SQL Server LTRIM() Function: Removes Leading Spaces

In SQL Server, the LTRIM() function removes the leading space from the beginning of the specified string and returns it.

LTRIM(character_expression)

Parameters

character_expression: A string of character or binary data. It can be a constant, variable, or table column.

Note: character_expression must be of a data type, except text, ntext, and image, that is implicitly convertible to varchar.

Return Value

A string of varchar or nvarchar.

Example 1:

In the following example, the leading spaces in a string are trimmed using the LTRIM() function.

Example: LTRIM()
SELECT '     Remove leading spaces' AS InputString, 
LTRIM('     Remove leading spaces') AS Result

Example 2:

Consider the following Address column with AddressID = 5 row has leading spaces.

Use the LTRIM() function to trim the leading spaces from the Address column, as shown below.

Example: LTRIM()
SELECT AddressID, LTRIM(Address) AS Address FROM Address