This error occurs generally when we are not passing the Output parameter in the SqlDbType.VarChar value like the below example SqlParameter job1 = cmd2 . Parameters . Add ( "@job" , SqlDbType . VarChar ); job1 . Direction = ParameterDirection . Output ; You need to define a length when specifying SqlDbType.VarChar parameter, So SqlParameter job1 = cmd2 . Parameters . Add ( "@job" , SqlDbType . VarChar , 50 ); You should use the same length as defined in your SQL Server stored procedure.