SQL Server Error Msg 135 – Cannot use a BREAK statement outside the scope of a WHILE statement.

In this blog post, let’s learn about the error message “135 – Cannot use a BREAK statement outside the scope of a WHILE statement.” in Microsoft SQL Server, the reason why it appears and the solution to fix it.

SQL Server Error Message

135 – Cannot use a BREAK statement outside the scope of a WHILE statement.

Reason for the Error

SQL Server Error Msg 135 occurs when a BREAK statement is used outside the scope of a WHILE loop. This error message indicates that the BREAK statement can only be used within the body of a WHILE loop to exit the loop early.

Here is an example of how this error can occur:

DECLARE @counter INT = 0;

BREAK;

In this example, the code attempts to use the BREAK statement outside of a WHILE loop. This will result in SQL Server throwing an error message similar to the following:

Msg 135, Level 15, State 1, Line 3
Cannot use a BREAK statement outside the scope of a WHILE statement.

Solution

To resolve this error, ensure that the BREAK statement is used within the body of a WHILE loop. For example:

DECLARE @counter INT = 0;

WHILE @counter < 10
BEGIN
    SET @counter = @counter + 1;

    IF @counter = 5
    BEGIN
        BREAK;
    END

    PRINT @counter;
END