---
title: SQL CREATE INDEX Statement
---

The CREATE INDEX statement is used to create indexes in tables.

Indexes are used to retrieve data from the database very fast. The users cannot see the indexes, they are just used to speed up searches/queries.

> **Note:** Updating a table with indexes takes more time than updating a table without (because the indexes also need an update). So, only create indexes on columns that will be frequently searched against.

#### CREATE INDEX Syntax

Creates an index on a table. Duplicate values are allowed:

```sql
CREATE INDEX index_name
ON table_name (column1, column2, ...);
```

#### CREATE UNIQUE INDEX Syntax

Creates a unique index on a table. Duplicate values are not allowed:

```sql
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX index_name
ON table_name (column1, column2, ...);
```

> **Note:** The syntax for creating indexes varies among different databases. Therefore: Check the syntax for creating indexes in your database.

#### CREATE INDEX Example

The SQL statement below creates an index named "idx_lastname" on the "LastName" column in the "Persons" table:

```sql
CREATE INDEX idx_lastname
ON Persons (LastName);
```

If you want to create an index on a combination of columns, you can list the column names within the parentheses, separated by commas:
CREATE INDEX idx_pname

```sql
ON Persons (LastName, FirstName);
```

#### DROP INDEX Statement

The DROP INDEX statement is used to delete an index in a table.

**MS Access:**
```sql
DROP INDEX index_name ON table_name;
```

**SQL Server:**
```sql
DROP INDEX table_name.index_name;
```

**DB2/Oracle:**
```sql
DROP INDEX index_name;
```
**MySQL:**
```sql
ALTER TABLE table_name
DROP INDEX index_name; 
```