diff --git a/sqlserver/datadog_checks/sqlserver/config.py b/sqlserver/datadog_checks/sqlserver/config.py
index 5182e8a7f0275..84172e8ddda2d 100644
--- a/sqlserver/datadog_checks/sqlserver/config.py
+++ b/sqlserver/datadog_checks/sqlserver/config.py
@@ -140,9 +140,11 @@ def _build_tags(self, custom_tags, propagate_agent_tags):
         else:
             tags = custom_tags
             if len(list(set(custom_tags))) != len(custom_tags):
-                print('natasha hereeeeeeeee')
-                print(custom_tags)
-                print(list(set(custom_tags)))
+                raise ConfigurationError(
+                    'natasha hereeee custom tags before: {} custom tags after: {}'.format(
+                        custom_tags, list(set(custom_tags))
+                    )
+                )
 
         if propagate_agent_tags:
             try: