If you’re getting error 10753 when using a window function in SQL Server, it’s probably because you’re calling the function without an OVER clause.

When using the DENSE_RANK() function, the error message reads “The function ‘DENSE_RANK’ must have an OVER clause”.

The DENSE_RANK() function requires an OVER clause (and that clause must have an ORDER BY clause).

To fix this issue, add an OVER clause to the DENSE_RANK() function.

Example of Error

Here’s an example of code that produces the error:

SELECT
    VendorId,
    ProductName,
    ProductPrice,
    DENSE_RANK( )
FROM Products;

Result:

Msg 10753, Level 15, State 3, Line 5
The function 'DENSE_RANK' must have an OVER clause.

I got the error because I called the DENSE_RANK() function without an OVER clause.

Solution

To fix this issue, simply add an OVER clause to the DENSE_RANK() function:

SELECT
    VendorId,
    ProductName,
    ProductPrice,
    DENSE_RANK( ) OVER ( 
        ORDER BY ProductPrice 
        ) AS DENSE_RANK
FROM Products;

Result:

VendorId  ProductName                      ProductPrice  DENSE_RANK
--------  -------------------------------  ------------  ----------
1004      Bottomless Coffee Mugs (4 Pack)  9.99          1         
1003      Hammock                          10            2         
1001      Long Weight (green)              11.99         3         
1004      Tea Pot                          12.45         4         
1001      Long Weight (blue)               14.75         5         
1001      Left handed screwdriver          25.99         6         
1001      Right handed screwdriver         25.99         6         
1002      Sledge Hammer                    33.49         7         
1003      Straw Dog Box                    55.99         8         
1003      Chainsaw                         245           9         

This time we got the expected result without error.

Here I also included an ORDER BY clause in the OVER clause. That’s because the OVER clause must have an ORDER BY clause. If we omit the ORDER BY clause we’ll get another error.