How do you check for NULL in a CASE statement, when you’re using a

Question

Editorial Team

Asked: June 4, 20262026-06-04T13:30:21+00:00 2026-06-04T13:30:21+00:00

How do you check for NULL in a CASE statement, when you’re using a Scalar Function?

My original query was … but it fails

SELECT  CASE dbo.fnCarerResponse('')
          WHEN NULL THEN 'Pass'
          ELSE 'Fail'
        END

I read the SO question about using IS NULL, like so …

SELECT  CASE dbo.fnCarerResponse('') IS NULL 
          WHEN NULL THEN 'Pass'
          ELSE 'Fail'
        END

but this gives the incorrect syntax near the keyword is error

Can you have a Scalar Function in the CASE ?

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Editorial Team · Answer 1 · 2026-06-04T13:30:23+00:00

Editorial Team

You are using the wrong style of CASE – you need to use CASE WHEN <expression> THEN not CASE <expression> WHEN <expression> then:

SELECT CASE 
 WHEN dbo.fnCarerResponse('') IS NULL
 THEN 'Pass'
 ELSE 'Fail'
END

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