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title Supported Version and Edition Upgrades (SQL Server 2025)
description The supported version and edition upgrades for SQL Server 2025.
author rwestMSFT
ms.author randolphwest
ms.date 11/18/2025
ms.service sql
ms.subservice install
ms.topic upgrade-and-migration-article
ms.custom
ignite-2025
helpviewer_keywords
components [SQL Server], adding to existing installations
versions [SQL Server], upgrading
upgrading SQL Server, upgrades supported
cross-language support
monikerRange >=sql-server-2017

Supported version and edition upgrades (SQL Server 2025)

[!INCLUDE SQL Server - Windows Only]

This article lists the supported upgrade paths from the following [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] versions, and the supported edition upgrades for [!INCLUDE sssql25-md].

You can upgrade from:

For older versions of [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md], you can also Migrate to SQL Server 2025.

Pre-upgrade checklist

  • Before you upgrade from one edition of [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] to another, verify that the functionality you're currently using is supported in the edition to which you're moving. For more information, see Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2025.

  • Verify supported hardware and software, including the supported operating system. For more information, see Hardware and software requirements for SQL Server 2025.

  • Before upgrading [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion], enable Windows Authentication for [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] Agent and verify the default configuration, that the [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] Agent service account is a member of the [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] sysadmin group.

  • Upgrade is blocked if there's a pending restart.

  • Upgrade is blocked if the Windows Installer service isn't running.

Unsupported scenarios

  • Cross-version instances of [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] aren't supported. Version numbers of the [!INCLUDE ssDE] components must be the same in an instance of [!INCLUDE sssql25-md].

  • [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] is only available for 64-bit platforms. Cross-platform upgrade isn't supported. You can't upgrade a 32-bit instance of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] to native 64-bit using [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] Setup. However, you can back up or detach databases from a 32-bit instance of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion], and then restore or attach them to a new instance of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] (64-bit), if the databases aren't published in replication. You must re-create any logins and other user objects in master, msdb, and model system databases.

  • You can't add new features during the upgrade of your existing instance of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion]. After you upgrade an instance of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] to [!INCLUDE sssql25-md], you can add features by using the [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] Setup. For more information, see Add Features to an Instance of SQL Server (Setup).

Upgrades from earlier versions to SQL Server 2025

[!INCLUDE sssql25-md] supports upgrade from the following versions of SQL Server:

The following table lists the supported upgrade scenarios from earlier versions of [!INCLUDE ssNoVersion] to [!INCLUDE sssql25-md].

Note

Web edition isn't available in [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] and later versions. Express edition includes all the functionality that was available in [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] Express edition with Advanced Services.

Upgrade from Supported upgrade path
[!INCLUDE sssql14-md] Service Pack 3 [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]
Enterprise edition Enterprise edition
Developer edition Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Web edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition
Business Intelligence edition Enterprise edition
Evaluation edition Evaluation edition
Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition
[!INCLUDE sssql16-md] Service Pack 3 [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]
Enterprise edition Enterprise edition
Developer edition Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Web edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition
Business Intelligence edition Enterprise edition
Evaluation edition Evaluation edition
Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition
[!INCLUDE sssql17-md] [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]
Enterprise edition Enterprise edition
Developer edition Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Web edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition
Business Intelligence edition Enterprise edition
Evaluation edition Evaluation edition
Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition
[!INCLUDE sssql19-md] [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]
Enterprise edition Enterprise edition
Developer edition Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Web edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition
Business Intelligence edition Enterprise edition
Evaluation edition Evaluation edition
Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition
[!INCLUDE sssql22-md] [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]
Enterprise edition Enterprise edition
Developer edition Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Web edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Express edition
Business Intelligence edition Enterprise edition
Evaluation edition Evaluation edition
Enterprise Developer edition
Standard Developer edition
Enterprise edition
Standard edition
Release candidate 1 Enterprise edition
Developer edition Enterprise edition

1 Microsoft support to upgrade from release candidate software is specifically for customers who participated in the Early Adopter Program.

Migrate to SQL Server 2025

You can migrate databases from older versions of [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] to [!INCLUDE sssql25-md], as long as the source database compatibility level is 90 or higher. Databases with a compatibility level of 90 (for example, on [!INCLUDE ssversion2005-md]), are automatically upgraded to a compatibility level of 100 when migrated to [!INCLUDE sssql25-md]. If the compatibility level on the source database is 100 or higher, it's unchanged on [!INCLUDE sssql25-md].

For information, see Upgrade SQL Server to the latest version.

The following tips and tools can help you plan and implement your migration.

  • Migration tools. Migration is supported through the SQL Server migration component in SQL Server Management Studio.

  • Backup and restore. A backup taken on [!INCLUDE sql2008-md] and later, can be restored to [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] without changing its compatibility level, as long as the database backup has a compatibility level of 100 or higher.

    Databases with a compatibility level of 90, including backups taken on [!INCLUDE ssversion2005-md], are automatically upgraded to a compatibility level of 100 when restored to [!INCLUDE sssql25-md].

  • Log shipping. Log shipping is supported if the primary is running [!INCLUDE sql2008-md] SP3 or later, or [!INCLUDE sql2008r2-md] SP2 or later, and the secondary is running [!INCLUDE sssql25-md].

    [!WARNING]
    If an automatic or manual failover happens and the [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] instance becomes primary, [!INCLUDE sql2008-md] or [!INCLUDE sql2008r2-md] instance becomes secondary and can't receive changes from primary.

  • Bulk load: Tables can be bulk copied from [!INCLUDE sql2008-md] or [!INCLUDE sql2008r2-md] to [!INCLUDE sssql25-md].

SQL Server 2025 edition upgrade

The following table lists the supported edition upgrade scenarios in [!INCLUDE sssql25-md].

For step-by-step instructions on how to perform an edition upgrade, see Upgrade to a different edition of SQL Server (Setup).

Upgrade from Upgrade to
Enterprise (Server+CAL and Core) Enterprise edition
Evaluation Enterprise Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License)
Standard
Developer

Upgrading from Evaluation (a free edition) to any of the paid editions is supported for stand-alone installations, but isn't supported for clustered installations. This limitation doesn't apply to stand-alone instances installed on a Windows Failover Cluster participating in an availability group.
Standard Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License)
Developer Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License)
Standard
Express Enterprise (Server+CAL or Core License)
Developer
Standard

Additionally you can also perform an edition upgrade between [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] Enterprise (Server+CAL license) and [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] Enterprise (Core License):

Edition upgrade from Edition upgrade to
Enterprise (Server+CAL License) 1 Enterprise (Core License)
Enterprise (Core License) Enterprise (Server+CAL License)

1 Changing the edition of a clustered instance of [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] is limited. The following scenarios aren't supported for [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] failover clusters:

  • Enterprise to Enterprise Developer, Standard Developer, Standard, or Evaluation.
  • Enterprise Developer to Standard or Evaluation.
  • Standard Developer to Standard or Evaluation.
  • Standard to Evaluation.
  • Evaluation to Standard.

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