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title: "ASYMKEYPROPERTY (Transact-SQL) | Microsoft Docs"
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# ASYMKEYPROPERTY (Transact-SQL)
[!INCLUDE[tsql-appliesto-ss2008-asdb-xxxx-xxx_md](../../includes/tsql-appliesto-ss2008-asdb-xxxx-xxx-md.md)]

Returns the properties of an asymmetric key.
  
![Topic link icon](../../database-engine/configure-windows/media/topic-link.gif "Topic link icon") [Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions](../../t-sql/language-elements/transact-sql-syntax-conventions-transact-sql.md)
  
## Syntax  
  
```sql
ASYMKEYPROPERTY (Key_ID , 'algorithm_desc' | 'string_sid' | 'sid')  
```  
  
## Arguments  
*Key_ID*  
Is the Key_ID of an asymmetric key in the database. To find the Key_ID when you only know the key name, use ASYMKEY_ID. *Key_ID* is data type **int**.
  
**'**algorithm_desc**'**  
Specifies that the output returns the algorithm description of the asymmetric key. Only available for asymmetric keys created from an EKM module.
  
**'**string_sid**'**  
Specifies that the output returns the SID of the asymmetric key in **nvarchar()** format.
  
**'**sid**'**  
Specifies that the output returns the SID of the asymmetric key in binary format.
  
## Return types  
**sql_variant**
  
## Permissions  
Requires some permission on the asymmetric key and that the caller has not been denied VIEW permission on the asymmetric key.
  
## Examples  
The following example returns the properties of the asymmetric key with Key_ID 256.
  
```sql
SELECT   
ASYMKEYPROPERTY(256, 'algorithm_desc') AS Algorithm,  
ASYMKEYPROPERTY(256, 'string_sid') AS String_SID,  
ASYMKEYPROPERTY(256, 'sid') AS SID ;  
GO  
```  
  
## See also
[CREATE ASYMMETRIC KEY (Transact-SQL)](../../t-sql/statements/create-asymmetric-key-transact-sql.md)  
[ALTER ASYMMETRIC KEY (Transact-SQL)](../../t-sql/statements/alter-asymmetric-key-transact-sql.md)  
[DROP ASYMMETRIC KEY (Transact-SQL)](../../t-sql/statements/drop-asymmetric-key-transact-sql.md)  
[SIGNBYASYMKEY (Transact-SQL)](../../t-sql/functions/signbyasymkey-transact-sql.md)  
[VERIFYSIGNEDBYASYMKEY (Transact-SQL)](../../t-sql/functions/verifysignedbyasymkey-transact-sql.md)  
[Encryption Hierarchy](../../relational-databases/security/encryption/encryption-hierarchy.md)  
[sys.asymmetric_keys (Transact-SQL)](../../relational-databases/system-catalog-views/sys-asymmetric-keys-transact-sql.md)  
[Security Catalog Views (Transact-SQL)](../../relational-databases/system-catalog-views/security-catalog-views-transact-sql.md)  
[ASYMKEY_ID (Transact-SQL)](../../t-sql/functions/asymkey-id-transact-sql.md)  
[SYMKEYPROPERTY (Transact-SQL)](../../t-sql/functions/symkeyproperty-transact-sql.md)