sp_column_privileges (Transact-SQL)
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Returns column privilege information for a single table in the current environment.
Transact-SQL syntax conventions
Syntax
sp_column_privileges
[ @table_name = ] N'table_name'
[ , [ @table_owner = ] N'table_owner' ]
[ , [ @table_qualifier = ] N'table_qualifier' ]
[ , [ @column_name = ] N'column_name' ]
[ ; ]
Arguments
[ @table_name = ] N'table_name'
The table used to return catalog information. @table_name is sysname, with no default. Wildcard pattern matching isn't supported.
[ @table_owner = ] N'table_owner'
The owner of the table used to return catalog information. @table_owner is sysname, with a default of NULL. Wildcard pattern matching isn't supported. If @table_owner isn't specified, the default table visibility rules of the underlying database management system (DBMS) apply.
If the current user owns a table with the specified name, that table's columns are returned. If @table_owner isn't specified and the current user doesn't own a table with the specified @table_name, sp_column privileges looks for a table with the specified @table_name owned by the database owner. If one exists, that table's columns are returned.
[ @table_qualifier = ] N'table_qualifier'
The name of the table qualifier. @table_qualifier is sysname, with a default of NULL. Various DBMS products support three-part naming for tables (<qualifier>.<owner>.<name>). In SQL Server, this column represents the database name. In some products, it represents the server name of the table's database environment.
[ @column_name = ] N'column_name'
A single column used when only one column of catalog information is being obtained. @column_name is nvarchar(384), with a default of NULL. If @column_name isn't specified, all columns are returned. In SQL Server, @column_name represents the column name as listed in the sys.columns table. @column_name can include wildcard characters using wildcard matching patterns of the underlying DBMS. For maximum interoperability, the gateway client should assume only ISO standard pattern matching (the % and _ wildcard characters).
Result set
sp_column_privileges is equivalent to SQLColumnPrivileges in ODBC. The results returned are ordered by TABLE_QUALIFIER, TABLE_OWNER, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME, and PRIVILEGE.
| Column name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
TABLE_QUALIFIER |
sysname | Table qualifier name. This field can be NULL. |
TABLE_OWNER |
sysname | Table owner name. This field always returns a value. |
TABLE_NAME |
sysname | Table name. This field always returns a value. |
COLUMN_NAME |
sysname | Column name, for each column of the TABLE_NAME returned. This field always returns a value. |
GRANTOR |
sysname | Database user name that was granted permissions on this COLUMN_NAME to the listed GRANTEE. In SQL Server, this column is always the same as the TABLE_OWNER. This field always returns a value.The GRANTOR column can be either the database owner (TABLE_OWNER) or a user to whom the database owner granted permissions by using the WITH GRANT OPTION clause in the GRANT statement. |
GRANTEE |
sysname | Database user name that was granted permissions on this COLUMN_NAME by the listed GRANTOR. In SQL Server, this column always includes a database user from the sysusers table. This field always returns a value. |
PRIVILEGE |
varchar(32) | One of the available column permissions. Column permissions can be one of the following values (or other values supported by the data source when implementation is defined):SELECT = GRANTEE can retrieve data for the columns.INSERT = GRANTEE can provide data for this column when new rows are inserted (by the GRANTEE) into the table.UPDATE = GRANTEE can modify existing data in the column.REFERENCES = GRANTEE can reference a column in a foreign table in a primary key/foreign key relationship. Primary key/foreign key relationships are defined by using table constraints. |
IS_GRANTABLE |
varchar(3) | Indicates whether the GRANTEE is permitted to grant permissions to other users (often referred to as "grant with grant" permission). Can be YES, NO, or NULL. An unknown, or NULL, value refers to a data source for which "grant with grant" isn't applicable. |
Remarks
With SQL Server, permissions are granted with the GRANT statement and taken away by the REVOKE statement.
Permissions
Requires SELECT permission on the schema.
Examples
The following example returns column privilege information for a specific column.
USE AdventureWorks2022;
GO
EXEC sp_column_privileges
@table_name = 'Employee',
@table_owner = 'HumanResources',
@table_qualifier = 'AdventureWorks2022',
@column_name = 'SalariedFlag';