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SQL Server CHARINDEX() Function

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Search for "t" in string "Customer", and return position:

SELECT CHARINDEX('t', 'Customer') AS MatchPosition;

Try it Yourself »

Definition and Usage

The CHARINDEX() function searches for a substring in a string, and returns the position.

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1/22/25, 6:00 PM SQL Server CHARINDEX() Function

If the substring is not found, this function returns 0.

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Note: This function performs a case-insensitive search.
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Syntax
CHARINDEX(substring, string, start)

Parameter Values
Parameter Description

substring Required. The substring to search for

string Required. The string to be searched

start Optional. The position where the search will start (if you do not want to start at the
beginning of string). The first position in string is 1

Technical Details
Works in: SQL Server (starting with 2008), Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Data Warehouse,
Parallel Data Warehouse

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Search for "OM" in string "Customer", and return position:

SELECT CHARINDEX('OM', 'Customer') AS MatchPosition;

Try it Yourself »

Example
Search for "mer" in string "Customer", and return position (start in position 3):

SELECT CHARINDEX('mer', 'Customer', 3) AS MatchPosition;

Try it Yourself »

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