SQL Server PATINDEX() Function

Return the position of a pattern in a string:

SELECT PATINDEX('%schools%', 'W3Schools.com');

Definition and Usage

The PATINDEX() function returns the position of a pattern in a string.

If the pattern is not found, this function returns 0.

Note: The search is case-insensitive and the first position in string is 1.

PATINDEX(%pattern%, string)

Parameter	Description
%pattern%	Required. The pattern to find. It MUST be surrounded by %. Other wildcards can be used in pattern, such as: % - Match any string of any length (including 0 length) _ - Match one single character [] - Match any characters in the brackets, e.g. [xyz] [^] - Match any character not in the brackets, e.g. [^xyz]
string	Required. The string to be searched

Works in:	SQL Server (starting with 2008), Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Parallel Data Warehouse

Return the position of a pattern in a string:

SELECT PATINDEX('%s%com%', 'W3Schools.com');

Return the position of a pattern in a string:

SELECT PATINDEX('%[ol]%', 'W3Schools.com');

Return the position of a pattern in a string:

SELECT PATINDEX('%[z]%', 'W3Schools.com');