MIN OVER in SQL Server

This page is a quick reference checkpoint for MIN OVER in SQL Server: behavior, syntax rules, edge cases, and a minimal example; plus the official vendor documentation.


Function Details

MIN OVER returns the smallest value in the window frame.

When used with OVER, MIN returns the minimum value over the specified window of rows and ignores NULL values; for character data, finds lowest value in the collation sequence.

If this behavior feels unintuitive, the tutorial below explains the underlying pattern step-by-step.

MIN supports the OVER clause, with optional PARTITION BY and ORDER BY.

SELECT department, salary, MIN(salary) OVER (PARTITION BY department) AS min_salary_in_dept FROM employees;

What should you do next?

If you came here to confirm syntax, you’re done. If you came here to get better at window functions, choose your next step.

Understand the pattern

MIN OVER is part of a bigger window-function pattern. If you want the “why”, start here: Aggregate Window Functions

Prove it with a real query

Reading docs is useful. Writing the query correctly under pressure is the skill.

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Support Status

  • Supported: yes
  • Minimum Version: SQL Server 2005

Official Documentation

For the authoritative spec, use the vendor docs. This page is the fast “sanity check”.

View SQL Server Documentation →

Looking for more functions across all SQL dialects? Visit the full SQL Dialects & Window Functions Documentation.