Error Message:
Msg 1763, Level 16, State 0, Line 1
Cross-database foreign key references are not supported. Foreign key ‘%.*ls’.
Severity level:
16.
Description:
This error message appears when you try to create a FOREIGN KEY constraint that references a table in another database.
Consequences:
The T-SQL statement can be parsed, but causes the error at runtime.
Resolution:
Error of the Severity Level 16 are generated by the user and can be fixed by the SQL Server user. The statement cannot be executed this way. FOREIGN KEY constraints cannot reference tables in other databases. You need to enforce RI on another level, such as triggers when two databases are involved.
Versions:
All versions of SQL Server.
Example(s):
USE tempdb;
GO
IF OBJECT_ID(‘tempdb..t’) > 0
DROP TABLE t
IF OBJECT_ID(‘tempdb..t’) > 0
DROP TABLE t
GO
CREATE TABLE t
(
c1 INT PRIMARY KEY
CONSTRAINT FK_t_t1_c1 FOREIGN KEY REFERENCES Northwind.dbo.Orders(OrderID)
)
GO
Remarks:
In the above example we try to create a FOREING KEY constraint for a table in tempDB that references the Orders table in the Northwind database. This raises the error.