If you are using an existing stage to access external tables, which permission is required on the Stage?

• A. READ
• B. USAGE
• C. MODIFY
• D. CREATE STAGE

Answer: (B)

Accessing data through an existing stage requires the USAGE privilege on that stage. In Snowflake, a stage is the reference to a data location, and you must be allowed to use that stage in queries (such as when defining or querying external tables) before Snowflake will read from it. MODIFY, CREATE STAGE, or similar privileges aren’t needed merely to consume data from an already-defined stage—their roles are to change the stage, create new ones, or grant broader control. The USAGE grant is the minimal and correct permission to reference and use the stage for external-table operations.