Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried the suggestion from holli and the code provided above is so similar to my code that for a moment I thought it was mine. So far I still have my NULL problem. I was only able to sneak a quick look at my computer now so all I can say at the moment is an initial "Thank you". Later today I should be able to put together a small sample program that will either work (and shock me) or allow me to demonstrate exactly what is not working. So far the only differences I see between the above code and my code is my use of upper case for the SQL words (shouldn't matter) and my use of a $SQLstr variable inside the prepare statement (I don't think this matters).