An ADF pipeline calls a stored procedure that validates input data and raises an error on validation failure. A trigger on the target table raises 50000 when a business rule is violated. An ETL stored procedure raises 50000 to signal that prerequisite data is missing

Step 1: Read the full error message — RAISERROR includes a custom message explaining the reason. In ADF pipeline failure details, expand the error to see the message text.. Step 2: Find the RAISERROR statement in the stored procedure: use the message text to search the procedure body: SELECT OBJECT_NAME(object_id), definition FROM sys.sql_modules WHERE definition LIKE '%your error message%';. Step 3: Fix the root cause identified in the custom error message — this may be missing data, a failed prerequisite, or a business rule violation.

Medium severityquery

Power BI Refresh Error:
50000

What does this error mean?

A stored procedure or trigger explicitly raised a custom error with RAISERROR or THROW, indicating a business rule or data validation failure.

Common causes

1An ADF pipeline calls a stored procedure that validates input data and raises an error on validation failure
2A trigger on the target table raises 50000 when a business rule is violated
3An ETL stored procedure raises 50000 to signal that prerequisite data is missing

How to fix it

1Step 1: Read the full error message — RAISERROR includes a custom message explaining the reason. In ADF pipeline failure details, expand the error to see the message text.
2Step 2: Find the RAISERROR statement in the stored procedure: use the message text to search the procedure body: SELECT OBJECT_NAME(object_id), definition FROM sys.sql_modules WHERE definition LIKE '%your error message%';
3Step 3: Fix the root cause identified in the custom error message — this may be missing data, a failed prerequisite, or a business rule violation.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between RAISERROR and THROW in SQL Server?

RAISERROR (legacy) requires an error number and sets it as the error number in the error log. THROW (SQL Server 2012+) re-throws the original error number or defaults to 50000. THROW is preferred in modern SQL Server code.

How do I handle error 50000 in an ADF pipeline?

In ADF, add an error path to the stored procedure activity. When the activity fails (any error), route to a Set Variable or Send Email activity that captures @activity('StoredProc').error.message to log the custom error text.

Can I use a custom error number instead of 50000?

Yes — user-defined errors must use numbers 50001 and above (50001–2147483647). Define them with sp_addmessage and reference the number in RAISERROR. Error 50000 is the default when a specific number is not set.

Official documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/language-elements/raiserror-transact-sql