title: "ALTER ROLE (Transact-SQL) | Microsoft Docs" ms.custom: "" ms.date: "03/13/2018" ms.prod: sql ms.prod_service: "database-engine, sql-database" ms.reviewer: "" ms.suite: "sql" ms.technology: t-sql ms.tgt_pltfrm: "" ms.topic: "language-reference" f1_keywords:
- "ALTER_ROLE_TSQL"
- "ALTER ROLE" dev_langs:
- "TSQL" helpviewer_keywords:
- "modifying database roles"
- "ALTER ROLE statement"
- "renaming database roles"
- "database roles [SQL Server], modifying"
- "names [SQL Server], database roles" ms.assetid: e1e83caa-17cc-4871-b2db-2711339fb64f caps.latest.revision: 64 author: CarlRabeler ms.author: carlrab manager: craigg monikerRange: ">=aps-pdw-2016||=azuresqldb-current||=azure-sqldw-latest||>=sql-server-2016||=sqlallproducts-allversions||>=sql-server-linux-2017"
[!INCLUDEtsql-appliesto-ss2008-asdb-asdw-pdw-md]
Adds or removes members to or from a database role, or changes the name of a user-defined database role.
Note
To alter roles adding or dropping members in [!INCLUDEssSDW] or [!INCLUDEssPDW], use sp_addrolemember (Transact-SQL) and sp_droprolemember (Transact-SQL).
Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions
-- Syntax for SQL Server (starting with 2012) and Azure SQL Database
ALTER ROLE role_name
{
ADD MEMBER database_principal
| DROP MEMBER database_principal
| WITH NAME = new_name
}
[;]
-- Syntax for SQL Server 2008, Azure SQL Data Warehouse and Parallel Data Warehouse
-- Change the name of a user-defined database role
ALTER ROLE role_name
WITH NAME = new_name
[;]
role_name
APPLIES TO: [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] (starting with 2008), [!INCLUDEssSDSfull]
Specifies the database role to change.
ADD MEMBER database_principall
APPLIES TO: [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] (starting with 2012), [!INCLUDEssSDSfull]
Specifies to add the database principal to the membership of a database role.
-
database_principal is a database user or a user-defined database role.
-
database_principal cannot be a fixed database role or a server principal.
DROP MEMBER database_principal
APPLIES TO: [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] (starting with 2012), [!INCLUDEssSDSfull]
Specifies to remove a database principal from the membership of a database role.
-
database_principal is a database user or a user-defined database role.
-
database_principal cannot be a fixed database role or a server principal.
WITH NAME = new_name
APPLIES TO: [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] (starting with 2008), [!INCLUDEssSDSfull]
Specifies to change the name of a user-defined database role. The new name must not already exist in the database.
Changing the name of a database role does not change ID number, owner, or permissions of the role.
To run this command you need one or more of these permissions or memberships:
- ALTER permission on the role
- ALTER ANY ROLE permission on the database
- Membership in the db_securityadmin fixed database role
Additionally, to change the membership in a fixed database role you need:
- Membership in the db_owner fixed database role
You cannot change the name of a fixed database role.
These system views contain information about database roles and database principals.
APPLIES TO: [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] (starting with 2008), [!INCLUDEssSDS]
The following example changes the name of role buyers to purchasing. This example can be executed in the AdventureWorks sample database.
ALTER ROLE buyers WITH NAME = purchasing; APPLIES TO: [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] (starting with 2012), [!INCLUDEssSDS]
This example creates a database role named Sales. It adds a database user named Barry to the membership, and then shows how to remove the member Barry. This example can be executed in the AdventureWorks sample database.
CREATE ROLE Sales;
ALTER ROLE Sales ADD MEMBER Barry;
ALTER ROLE Sales DROP MEMBER Barry; CREATE ROLE (Transact-SQL)
Principals (Database Engine)
DROP ROLE (Transact-SQL)
sp_addrolemember (Transact-SQL)
sys.database_role_members (Transact-SQL)
sys.database_principals (Transact-SQL)