The SQL Server 2016 end of support date was 14 July 2026, when Microsoft's extended support ended. If you still run SQL Server 2016, you may already be out of support: Microsoft no longer issues security updates for it unless you buy Extended Security Updates, which last up to three years and cover only Critical-rated fixes.
This post covers Microsoft's dates, what ESUs include and how they're bought, what changed on Azure and Amazon RDS, which version to move to, and the code around the engine that decides how big the upgrade is.
- Extended support for SQL Server 2016 ended on 14 July 2026. If you still run it, it's already out of support.
- Extended Security Updates are sold for up to three years, to 17 July 2029, and cover Critical-rated security fixes only.
- Moving SQL Server 2016 to an Azure VM no longer brings ESUs at no extra cost, as it did for SQL Server 2014.
- The engine upgrade is the small part. Stored procedures, SSIS packages, SSRS reports, Agent jobs, CLR assemblies and linked servers are the work.
SQL Server 2016 end of support date, and the dates around it
The SQL Server 2016 life cycle follows Microsoft's Fixed Lifecycle Policy: five years of mainstream support, then five of extended support with security updates only, as Microsoft's end of support options page explains.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Start date | 1 June 2016 |
| Mainstream support ended | 13 July 2021 |
| Extended support ended | 14 July 2026 |
| Extended Security Updates, Year 1 | 15 July 2026 to 13 July 2027 |
| Extended Security Updates, Year 2 | 14 July 2027 to 18 July 2028 |
| Extended Security Updates, Year 3 | 19 July 2028 to 17 July 2029 |
Checked 27 October 2026 against Microsoft's lifecycle page for SQL Server 2016.
What changed on 14 July 2026?
Nothing switched off. Your instances still start and answer queries. What stopped is Microsoft's servicing. Microsoft's list of products ending support in 2026 puts SQL Server 2016 under 14 July 2026 and says that after end of support there are no new security updates, no non-security updates and no assisted support, paid or otherwise. ESUs are the one narrow exception.
To an auditor, that makes SQL Server 2016 an unsupported database unless you can show an ESU subscription; see the risks of running end-of-life software. SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 left support the same day, and every SharePoint farm stores its content in SQL Server, so check both together: see SharePoint 2016 and 2019 end of support.
Can you still buy SQL Server 2016 ESU?
Yes. Microsoft's ESU page says the subscription "protects your servers for up to three years after the support lifecycle ends." How you buy depends on where the instance runs.
| Where SQL Server 2016 runs | How you get ESUs |
|---|---|
| On-premises, another cloud, or hosted | Connect the instance to Azure Arc and subscribe, with Software Assurance under an Enterprise Agreement, EA Subscription, Server and Cloud Enrollment or Enrollment for Education Solutions, or with Arc's pay-as-you-go billing |
| Can't connect to Azure Arc | Ask your Microsoft account team about volume licensing, then register the instance in the Azure portal |
| SQL Server on Azure VMs | Subscribe through the SQL IaaS Agent extension |
| Azure VMware Solution | Subscribe, as above |
Know what you're buying. Microsoft releases an ESU only "if needed", when its Security Response Center rates a vulnerability Critical, so there's no regular cadence. ESUs bring no new features, no functional improvements and no customer-requested fixes, and support covers only the updates themselves.
SQL Server 2016 end of life on Azure: ESUs are no longer included
This is the correction most worth making. Moving SQL Server 2014 to an Azure VM brought ESUs at no extra cost. SQL Server 2016 is different: Microsoft's ESU page says that, starting with SQL Server 2016, moving to SQL Server on Azure VMs no longer gives you ESUs at no charge. You subscribe and pay on Azure, as anywhere else.
The Azure options that avoid ESUs change the database. Microsoft says Azure SQL Managed Instance and Azure SQL Database Hyperscale "never reach end of support", but warns that cross-database queries, linked servers and SQL Server Agent jobs might need changes for Azure SQL Database.
RDS SQL Server 2016 end of support
Amazon's RDS for SQL Server versions page gives three dates.
| Date | What Amazon RDS does |
|---|---|
| 15 January 2026 | Starts disabling creation of new SQL Server 2016 instances |
| 14 July 2026 | Ends support for SQL Server 2016 on RDS for SQL Server |
| From 14 July 2026 | Schedules remaining instances to migrate to SQL Server 2019, latest minor version |
An automatic move to SQL Server 2019 is an upgrade you didn't test, onto a version whose extended support ends on 8 January 2030. Amazon's advice is to upgrade at a time that suits you. Take it, and pick the target yourself.
Which version should you upgrade to?
| Version | Mainstream support ends | Extended support ends |
|---|---|---|
| SQL Server 2017 | Ended 11 October 2022 | 12 October 2027 |
| SQL Server 2019 | Ended 28 February 2025 | 8 January 2030 |
| SQL Server 2022 | 11 January 2028 | 11 January 2033 |
| SQL Server 2025 | 6 January 2031 | 6 January 2036 |
Checked 27 October 2026 against Microsoft's lifecycle pages for SQL Server 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2025, whose start date is 18 November 2025.
SQL Server 2022 and 2025 are the realistic targets; 2017 buys less than a year. Microsoft notes that keeping each database at its current compatibility level protects existing applications from functional and performance changes, so upgrade the engine first and raise compatibility levels later, deliberately.
The engine is the easy part
Microsoft's tools check the engine. What sizes the upgrade is the code in and around the database, and Microsoft documents changes that land on it.
| What you have | What to check | What Microsoft documents |
|---|---|---|
| Stored procedures, functions, triggers | What each does and what calls it | Behavior can change when you raise the compatibility level |
| SSIS packages | Every package, connection manager and custom task | SSIS 2025 deprecates 32-bit mode and removes the Attunity CDC components, the Microsoft Connector for Oracle and the Hadoop tasks |
| SSRS reports | Every report, data source and subscription | From SQL Server 2025, no new SSRS versions; reporting moves to Power BI Report Server. SSRS 2022 is supported to 11 January 2033 |
| SQL Server Agent jobs | Schedules, owners, what each job runs | Among the instance-level objects that may need changes on Azure SQL Database |
| CLR assemblies | Every assembly and its permission set | Since SQL Server 2017, clr strict security treats SAFE and EXTERNAL_ACCESS assemblies as UNSAFE by default; unsigned ones fail to load |
| Linked servers and drivers | Which provider each one uses | SQL Server Native Client isn't shipped with SQL Server 2022 and later |
Two instances of the same size can need very different upgrades, depending on how much logic sits in packages, jobs and assemblies, and who still understands it. Front ends count too: an Access database linked to SQL Server tables is part of the estate, with end-of-life questions of its own. Databases like these turn up on almost any list of legacy system examples.
Before you upgrade: where the 30-day assessment fits
Microsoft's tools check the engine. The 30-day assessment checks everything else. It's fixed in scope, at a price agreed before we start. Over 30 days we read the stored procedures, SSIS packages, SSRS reports, Agent jobs, CLR assemblies and linked servers around your SQL Server 2016 instances, and map what depends on what, including the applications and front ends that connect. We find the hidden architectural debt and flag the security and compliance gaps, starting with anything Microsoft has stopped patching.
The report says in plain language what is broken, what each upgrade path would break, and what it would take to fix it. Your own team can act on it, or we can do the upgrade as a separate project with its own scope and price. Either way, the report stands on its own. If a compatibility check on one instance would answer your question, we'll say so.
Email Santosh a short list of your SQL Server 2016 instances and what runs on each.