SQL Server Versions: Releases & Support End Dates

This is a reference list of every SQL Server version — the same table our SQL Server support team works from when assessing an install base. It covers releases from SQL Server 2000 through SQL Server 2025, with build number prefixes, mainstream and extended support end dates, and current status. Dates are taken from Microsoft's lifecycle pages; each version links to its official entry.

SQL Server versions list: all releases and support dates

Every version of SQL Server ships with roughly ten years of support under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy: five years of mainstream support and five years of extended support. Dates below are the official end dates as published by Microsoft.

Version names vs. internal version numbers

Marketing names and internal version numbers diverged early. The product name carries a year (SQL Server 2019), while the engine reports a sequential major version (15.x). The gap exists because SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 (8.0) predate the year-based naming, and version 13 was not skipped — 2016 is 13.x. There is also no SQL Server 2020 or 2021; Microsoft simply names each release for the year it ships, and no release shipped in those years. R2 releases (2008 R2) were full versions with their own lifecycle, not service packs.

Service packs were discontinued after SQL Server 2016 SP3. From SQL Server 2017 onward, servicing is cumulative updates only: a CU roughly every one to two months during the first years of a release, slowing later, plus GDR (security-only) branches for servers that take security fixes without CU changes. This is why the third build-number segment, not an SP label, identifies patch level on anything current.

What mainstream vs. extended support means

Microsoft's Fixed Lifecycle Policy splits the ten-year window into two phases:

• Mainstream support (first ~5 years): security updates, non-security bug fixes, cumulative updates, and the ability to request design changes. This is the only phase in which functional fixes ship.
• Extended support (next ~5 years): security updates only. No new cumulative updates for non-security issues, no feature changes. Paid support incidents are still accepted.

After extended support ends, the version is at end of support: no patches of any kind. The one exception is Extended Security Updates, a paid program that delivers critical security fixes for up to three additional years. ESUs are free for instances running in Azure (including Azure VMware Solution and Azure Arc-enabled servers with an ESU subscription).

Supported SQL Server versions

As of 2026, four versions still receive updates from Microsoft:

• SQL Server 2025 — mainstream support until January 6, 2031
• SQL Server 2022 — mainstream support until January 11, 2028
• SQL Server 2019 — extended support (security fixes only) until January 8, 2030
• SQL Server 2017 — extended support (security fixes only) until October 12, 2027

SQL Server 2019 and 2017 no longer receive cumulative updates for non-security bugs. If you are provisioning a new server today, 2022 or 2025 are the only versions with mainstream support ahead of them. SQL Server 2016 dropped off this list in July 2026 — details in our SQL Server 2016 end-of-support guide.

The latest SQL Server version

The latest version is SQL Server 2025 (build 17.0.x), generally available since November 18, 2025. It runs on Windows and Linux, and its headline changes over 2022 are native vector search for AI workloads, a built-in REST/GraphQL data API, optimized locking as a default, and tighter Microsoft Fabric mirroring. Feature detail and edition comparison are in our SQL Server 2025 overview. Installers for current versions are collected in our SQL Server download guide.

SQL Server 2025 supports upgrade or migration from SQL Server 2016 SP3 and later. Microsoft's release cadence has settled at roughly one major version every three years (2016, 2017 being the exception, then 2019, 2022, 2025), so the next release can reasonably be expected around 2028 — Microsoft has not announced one.

How to check your SQL Server version

Run this in SQL Server Management Studio, Azure Data Studio, or sqlcmd:

SELECT @@VERSION;

The output includes the full build number, edition, and OS. For a more structured result:

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('ProductVersion'), SERVERPROPERTY('ProductLevel'), SERVERPROPERTY('Edition');

Map the first two digits of the build number to the table above: 17.0 is 2025, 16.0 is 2022, 15.0 is 2019, 14.0 is 2017, 13.0 is 2016, 12.0 is 2014, 11.0 is 2012, 10.50 is 2008 R2, 10.0 is 2008, 9.0 is 2005, 8.0 is 2000. The digits after the prefix identify the cumulative update level; Microsoft maintains the full build-to-CU mapping on its latest updates and version history page.

Version compatibility levels

Each database carries a compatibility level that controls query optimizer and language behavior independently of the engine version: 170 (2025), 160 (2022), 150 (2019), 140 (2017), 130 (2016), 120 (2014), 110 (2012), 100 (2008/2008 R2). A SQL Server 2025 instance can host databases at compatibility level 100 and above, which is why upgrades rarely break application behavior immediately — the database keeps its old level until you raise it with ALTER DATABASE ... SET COMPATIBILITY_LEVEL. Raise it after upgrading and test, since it enables newer optimizer behavior. Reference: ALTER DATABASE compatibility level.

Upgrade paths

In-place upgrade support follows a consistent pattern: each version accepts direct upgrades from releases going back roughly ten years.

Older sources (2000, 2005, 2008, 2008 R2) cannot upgrade in place to a current version. The standard path is backup/restore or detach/attach into an intermediate version (2012 or 2014), then a second hop to the target — or, more commonly, a side-by-side migration: build a new instance on 2022 or 2025 and restore databases into it. Side-by-side is the safer pattern regardless of source version because it leaves a rollback target intact. Full requirements are in Microsoft's supported version and edition upgrades documentation.

Running an out-of-support version

An out-of-support SQL Server keeps running; nothing switches off. The consequences are:

• No security patches. New vulnerabilities in the engine remain unpatched. SQL Server holds regulated data in most deployments, which makes this the primary exposure.
• Compliance failure. PCI DSS, HIPAA, and most cyber-insurance policies require supported software. An out-of-support database server is a standard audit finding.
• No Microsoft support cases. Microsoft will not troubleshoot an end-of-support version, including severity-A outages.
• Vendor drop-off. Application vendors stop certifying against retired versions, so application upgrades eventually force the database upgrade anyway.

There are three exits, documented in Microsoft's end-of-support options page:

1. Upgrade on-premises to SQL Server 2022 or 2025, in place or side by side.
2. Move to Azure. Azure SQL Managed Instance or SQL Server on an Azure VM. Running an end-of-support version on an Azure VM includes ESUs at no extra cost, which buys time without an immediate application change.
3. Buy Extended Security Updates for on-premises instances (available for 2014 through year 3 ending July 12, 2027, and for 2016 following its July 2026 retirement). ESUs cover critical security fixes only, are priced as a percentage of the current license cost, and that percentage rises each year — year 1 is roughly 75 percent of license price, year 3 exceeds it. ESUs are a bridge, not a destination.

The practical decision usually reduces to workload age. Applications with active vendors get upgraded on-premises or moved to an Azure VM. Legacy applications with no vendor and no upgrade path get isolated — separate VLAN, no internet egress, restricted logins — and scheduled for retirement, because ESU pricing makes indefinitely maintaining them more expensive than replacing them.

If you need help planning an upgrade, want a version inventory across an estate, or are weighing Azure against an on-premises rebuild, our SQL Server consulting team handles assessment through cutover.

FAQ

What is the latest version of SQL Server?

SQL Server 2025 (build 17.0.x), generally available since November 18, 2025. It is supported through January 6, 2036 (extended support).

Which SQL Server versions are still supported?

SQL Server 2025, 2022, 2019, and 2017. Only 2025 and 2022 remain in mainstream support; 2019 and 2017 receive security updates only.

Is SQL Server 2016 still supported?

No. Extended support ended July 14, 2026. Security updates now require a paid ESU subscription or a move to Azure.

How many years is a SQL Server version supported?

Roughly ten years: five years of mainstream support plus five years of extended support, with up to three further years available through paid Extended Security Updates.