Include Null Values in JSON - INCLUDE_NULL_VALUES Option

Applies to: SQL Server 2016 (13.x) and later Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics (serverless SQL pool only)

To include null values in the JSON output of the FOR JSON clause, specify the INCLUDE_NULL_VALUES option.

If you don't specify the INCLUDE_NULL_VALUES option, the JSON output doesn't include properties for values that are null in the query results.

Examples

The following example shows the output of the FOR JSON clause with and without the INCLUDE_NULL_VALUES option.

Without the INCLUDE_NULL_VALUES option	With the INCLUDE_NULL_VALUES option
{ "name": "John", "surname": "Doe" }	{ "name": "John", "surname": "Doe", "age": null, "phone": null }

Here's another example of a FOR JSON clause with the INCLUDE_NULL_VALUES option.

Query

SQL

SELECT name, surname  
FROM emp  
FOR JSON AUTO, INCLUDE_NULL_VALUES    

Result

JSON

[{
    "name": "John",
    "surname": null
}, {
    "name": "Jane",
    "surname": "Doe"
}] 

Learn more about JSON in SQL Server and Azure SQL Database

Microsoft videos

Märkus

Some of the video links in this section may not work at this time. Microsoft is migrating content formerly on Channel 9 to a new platform. We will update the links as the videos are migrated to the new platform.

For a visual introduction to the built-in JSON support in SQL Server and Azure SQL Database, see the following videos:

• JSON as a bridge between NoSQL and relational worlds

See Also

FOR Clause (Transact-SQL)