Automatic Table of Contents for KDP: Kindle and Print

You finish writing your final chapter and prepare the Table of Contents. The temptation is to type it out manually: “Chapter 1 ………. Page 7”, copying page numbers from your editor view. That manual table breaks the moment you add a paragraph, and on Kindle ebooks, it fails Amazon’s quality standards: KDP requires an interactive Table of Contents with hyperlinked navigation recognized by Kindle software. Without it, KDP flags your ebook with quality warnings.

“Table of Contents” Means Two Different Things on Amazon KDP

Amazon KDP enforces two distinct technical requirements for Kindle and paperback editions:

Format	Kindle eBook (EPUB)	Paperback Print (PDF)
KDP Technical Requirement	Active device navigation: an embedded nav document with epub:type="toc" accessible via the Kindle “Go To” menu	A formatted chapter list printed inside the book interior
Headings Parsed by Markfolio	h1, h2, and h3 tags in your manuscript	h2 and h3 tags (the h1 is reserved for the book title)
Risk of Manual Typing	Static text lacks interactive navigation, causing KDP review warnings	Page numbers permanently lock in time, becoming inaccurate whenever layout or font sizes change

Both formats require separate technical compilation from your single manuscript source.

Step-by-Step: Automatic TOC Generation

1. Structure chapters with real markdown headings (## Chapter Title and ### Subheading) rather than bolded text.
2. Upload your .md or .docx file in the Book Creator wizard.
3. Choose your export format: EPUB, PDF, or Both. The TOC compiles automatically for each format.
4. Inspect the preflight check: the toc-included item verifies that valid headings exist across the book.
5. Download your files: the EPUB contains embedded NCX/Nav documents, while the PDF features perfectly formatted chapter page listings.

To verify margin and bleed specifications for your interior PDF, read our KDP margins from Markdown guide.