sys.identity_columns (Transact-SQL)
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure Synapse Analytics
Analytics Platform System (PDW)
Contains a row for each column that is an identity column.
The sys.identity_columns view inherits rows from the sys.columns view. The sys.identity_columns view returns the columns in the sys.columns view, plus the seed_value, increment_value, last_value, and is_not_for_replication columns. For more information, see Catalog Views (Transact-SQL).
| Column name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| <columns inherited from sys.columns> | The sys.identity_columns view returns all columns in the sys.columns view. It also returns the additional columns described below. For a description of the columns that the sys.identity_columns view inherits from sys.columns, see sys.columns (Transact-SQL). | |
| seed_value | sql_variant | Seed value for this identity column. The data type of the seed value is the same as the data type of the column itself. |
| increment_value | sql_variant | Increment value for this identity column. The data type of the seed value is the same as the data type of the column itself. |
| last_value | sql_variant | Last value generated for this identity column. The data type of the seed value is the same as the data type of the column itself. |
| is_not_for_replication | bit | Identity column is declared NOT FOR REPLICATION. Note: This column does not apply to Azure Synapse Analytics. |
Note
To create an automatically incrementing number that can be used in multiple tables or that can be called from applications without referencing any table, see Sequence Numbers.
Permissions
The visibility of the metadata in catalog views is limited to securables that a user either owns, or on which the user was granted some permission. For more information, see Metadata Visibility Configuration.
See Also
Object Catalog Views (Transact-SQL)
Catalog Views (Transact-SQL)
Querying the SQL Server System Catalog FAQ