MAX()

MAX returns the maximum of all values of the specified expression in a group.

Signature

MAX ( [ ALL | DISTINCT ] expression )

Parameters

expression — A constant, column name, or function, and any combination of arithmetic, bitwise, and string operators. `MAX` can be used with numeric, char, nchar, varchar, nvarchar, uniqueidentifier, or datetime columns, but not with bit columns. Aggregate functions and subqueries aren't permitted.

Examples

SELECT MAX(amount) AS dearest FROM dbo.orders;

dearest
------------
      438.00

SELECT MAX(name)
FROM sys.databases
WHERE database_id < 5;

tempdb

Run against SQL Server 16.0.4265.3 on 2026-09-13. This is the output we got, not the documentation’s.

Available on

SQL Server 2017 and later
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure Synapse Analytics
Analytics Platform System (PDW)
Microsoft Fabric warehouse
Fabric SQL database

Signature and description adapted from the Microsoft SQL documentation, used under the CC BY 4.0. SQL Server and Azure are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. This page is not affiliated with Microsoft.