 <p>You specify the edition after the name of the DB:</p> <pre><code>SqlCommand cmd2 = new SqlCommand(string.Format("CREATE DATABASE [{0:S}] (SERVICE_OBJECTIVE = 'basic');", databaseName), conn); </code></pre> <p>The documentation for the syntax can be found <a href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn268335.aspx" rel="nofollow">here</a></p>