DENY Database Permissions (Transact-SQL)
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure Synapse Analytics
Analytics Platform System (PDW)
SQL analytics endpoint in Microsoft Fabric
Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric
Denies permissions on a database in SQL Server.
Transact-SQL syntax conventions
Syntax
DENY <permission> [ ,...n ]
TO <database_principal> [ ,...n ] [ CASCADE ]
[ AS <database_principal> ]
<permission> ::=
permission | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ]
<database_principal> ::=
Database_user
| Database_role
| Application_role
| Database_user_mapped_to_Windows_User
| Database_user_mapped_to_Windows_Group
| Database_user_mapped_to_certificate
| Database_user_mapped_to_asymmetric_key
| Database_user_with_no_login
Arguments
permission Specifies a permission that can be denied on a database. For a list of the permissions, see the Remarks section later in this topic.
ALL This option does not deny all possible permissions. Denying ALL is equivalent to denying the following permissions: BACKUP DATABASE, BACKUP LOG, CREATE DATABASE, CREATE DEFAULT, CREATE FUNCTION, CREATE PROCEDURE, CREATE RULE, CREATE TABLE, and CREATE VIEW.
PRIVILEGES Included for ISO compliance. Does not change the behavior of ALL.
CASCADE Indicates that the permission will also be denied to principals to which the specified principal granted it.
AS <database_principal> Specifies a principal from which the principal executing this query derives its right to deny the permission.
Database_user Specifies a database user.
Database_role Specifies a database role.
Application_role Applies to: SQL Server 2008 (10.0.x) and later, SQL Database.
Specifies an application role.
Database_user_mapped_to_Windows_User Specifies a database user mapped to a Windows user.
Database_user_mapped_to_Windows_Group Specifies a database user mapped to a Windows group.
Database_user_mapped_to_certificate Specifies a database user mapped to a certificate.
Database_user_mapped_to_asymmetric_key Specifies a database user mapped to an asymmetric key.
Database_user_with_no_login Specifies a database user with no corresponding server-level principal.
Remarks
A database is a securable contained by the server that is its parent in the permissions hierarchy. The most specific and limited permissions that can be denied on a database are listed in the following table, together with the more general permissions that include them by implication.
| Database permission | Implied by database permission | Implied by server permission |
|---|---|---|
| ADMINISTER DATABASE BULK OPERATIONS Applies to: SQL Database. |
CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER | CONTROL | ALTER ANY DATABASE |
| ALTER ANY APPLICATION ROLE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY ASSEMBLY | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY ASYMMETRIC KEY | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY CERTIFICATE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY COLUMN ENCRYPTION KEY | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY COLUMN MASTER KEY DEFINITION | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY CONTRACT | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY DATABASE AUDIT | ALTER | ALTER ANY SERVER AUDIT |
| ALTER ANY DATABASE DDL TRIGGER | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY DATABASE EVENT NOTIFICATION | ALTER | ALTER ANY EVENT NOTIFICATION |
| ALTER ANY DATABASE EVENT SESSION Applies to: Azure SQL Database. |
ALTER | ALTER ANY EVENT SESSION |
| ALTER ANY DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION Applies to: SQL Server 2016 (13.x) and later, SQL Database. |
CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY DATASPACE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY EXTERNAL FILE FORMAT | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY EXTERNAL LIBRARY Applies to: SQL Server 2017 (14.x). |
CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY FULLTEXT CATALOG | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY MASK | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY MESSAGE TYPE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY REMOTE SERVICE BINDING | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY ROLE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY ROUTE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY SECURITY POLICY Applies to: SQL Server 2016 (13.x) and later, Azure SQL Database. |
CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY SCHEMA | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY SERVICE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY SYMMETRIC KEY | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| ALTER ANY USER | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| AUTHENTICATE | CONTROL | AUTHENTICATE SERVER |
| BACKUP DATABASE | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| BACKUP LOG | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| CHECKPOINT | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| CONNECT | CONNECT REPLICATION | CONTROL SERVER |
| CONNECT REPLICATION | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| CONTROL | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE AGGREGATE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE ASSEMBLY | ALTER ANY ASSEMBLY | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE ASYMMETRIC KEY | ALTER ANY ASYMMETRIC KEY | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE CERTIFICATE | ALTER ANY CERTIFICATE | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE CONTRACT | ALTER ANY CONTRACT | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE DATABASE | CONTROL | CREATE ANY DATABASE |
| CREATE DATABASE DDL EVENT NOTIFICATION | ALTER ANY DATABASE EVENT NOTIFICATION | CREATE DDL EVENT NOTIFICATION |
| CREATE DEFAULT | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE FULLTEXT CATALOG | ALTER ANY FULLTEXT CATALOG | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE FUNCTION | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE MESSAGE TYPE | ALTER ANY MESSAGE TYPE | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE PROCEDURE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE QUEUE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE REMOTE SERVICE BINDING | ALTER ANY REMOTE SERVICE BINDING | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE ROLE | ALTER ANY ROLE | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE ROUTE | ALTER ANY ROUTE | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE RULE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE SCHEMA | ALTER ANY SCHEMA | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE SERVICE | ALTER ANY SERVICE | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE SYMMETRIC KEY | ALTER ANY SYMMETRIC KEY | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE SYNONYM | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE TABLE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE TYPE | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE VIEW | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| CREATE XML SCHEMA COLLECTION | ALTER | CONTROL SERVER |
| DELETE | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| EXECUTE | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| EXECUTE ANY EXTERNAL SCRIPT Applies to: SQL Server 2016 (13.x). |
CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| INSERT | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| KILL DATABASE CONNECTION Applies to: Azure SQL Database. |
CONTROL | ALTER ANY CONNECTION |
| REFERENCES | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| SELECT | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| SHOWPLAN | CONTROL | ALTER TRACE |
| SUBSCRIBE QUERY NOTIFICATIONS | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| TAKE OWNERSHIP | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| UNMASK | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| UPDATE | CONTROL | CONTROL SERVER |
| VIEW ANY COLUMN ENCRYPTION KEY | CONTROL | VIEW ANY DEFINITION |
| VIEW ANY MASTER KEY DEFINITION | CONTROL | VIEW ANY DEFINITION |
| VIEW DATABASE STATE | CONTROL | VIEW SERVER STATE |
| VIEW DEFINITION | CONTROL | VIEW ANY DEFINITION |
Permissions
The principal that executes this statement (or the principal specified with the AS option) must have CONTROL permission on the database or a higher permission that implies CONTROL permission on the database.
If you are using the AS option, the specified principal must own the database.
Examples
A. Denying permission to create certificates
The following example denies CREATE CERTIFICATE permission on the AdventureWorks2022 database to user MelanieK.
USE AdventureWorks2022;
DENY CREATE CERTIFICATE TO MelanieK;
GO
B. Denying REFERENCES permission to an application role
The following example denies REFERENCES permission on the AdventureWorks2022 database to application role AuditMonitor.
Applies to: SQL Server 2008 (10.0.x) and later, SQL Database.
USE AdventureWorks2022;
DENY REFERENCES TO AuditMonitor;
GO
C. Denying VIEW DEFINITION with CASCADE
The following example denies VIEW DEFINITION permission on the AdventureWorks2022 database to user CarmineEs and to all principals to which CarmineEs has granted VIEW DEFINITION permission.
USE AdventureWorks2022;
DENY VIEW DEFINITION TO CarmineEs CASCADE;
GO