diff --git a/public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/EmptyTransformationsMessage.test.tsx b/public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/EmptyTransformationsMessage.test.tsx
index 7f7af75146b..b23726c0288 100644
--- a/public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/EmptyTransformationsMessage.test.tsx
+++ b/public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/EmptyTransformationsMessage.test.tsx
@@ -117,4 +117,102 @@ describe('EmptyTransformationsMessage', () => {
       expect(screen.getByTestId(selectors.components.Transforms.addTransformationButton)).toBeInTheDocument();
     });
   });
+
+  describe('SQL card disabled state', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      config.featureToggles.transformationsEmptyPlaceholder = true;
+      config.featureToggles.sqlExpressions = true;
+    });
+
+    // Helper to check if the info icon button is present (rendered when disabled)
+    const getInfoIconButton = (container: HTMLElement) => {
+      // The IconButton for info renders as a button with an SVG icon
+      // When disabled, there are 2 buttons: the card button and the info icon button
+      const buttons = container.querySelectorAll('button');
+      return buttons.length > 1 ? buttons[1] : null;
+    };
+
+    it('should show disabled SQL card with info icon when isSqlApplicable is false', () => {
+      render(
+        <EmptyTransformationsMessage
+          onShowPicker={onShowPicker}
+          onGoToQueries={onGoToQueries}
+          onAddTransformation={onAddTransformation}
+          isSqlApplicable={false}
+        />
+      );
+
+      const sqlCard = screen.getByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+      // Should show info icon button when disabled (2 buttons total)
+      expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    });
+
+    it('should not call onGoToQueries when SQL card is disabled and clicked', async () => {
+      const user = userEvent.setup();
+
+      render(
+        <EmptyTransformationsMessage
+          onShowPicker={onShowPicker}
+          onGoToQueries={onGoToQueries}
+          onAddTransformation={onAddTransformation}
+          isSqlApplicable={false}
+        />
+      );
+
+      const sqlCard = screen.getByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+      const button = sqlCard.querySelector('button');
+      await user.click(button!);
+
+      // onGoToQueries should NOT be called when disabled
+      expect(onGoToQueries).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('should call onGoToQueries when SQL card is enabled and clicked', async () => {
+      const user = userEvent.setup();
+
+      render(
+        <EmptyTransformationsMessage
+          onShowPicker={onShowPicker}
+          onGoToQueries={onGoToQueries}
+          onAddTransformation={onAddTransformation}
+          isSqlApplicable={true}
+        />
+      );
+
+      const sqlCard = screen.getByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+      const button = sqlCard.querySelector('button');
+      await user.click(button!);
+
+      expect(onGoToQueries).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('should not show info icon when SQL card is enabled', () => {
+      render(
+        <EmptyTransformationsMessage
+          onShowPicker={onShowPicker}
+          onGoToQueries={onGoToQueries}
+          onAddTransformation={onAddTransformation}
+          isSqlApplicable={true}
+        />
+      );
+
+      const sqlCard = screen.getByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+      // Should NOT show info icon button when enabled (only 1 button)
+      expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('should default to enabled when isSqlApplicable is not provided', () => {
+      render(
+        <EmptyTransformationsMessage
+          onShowPicker={onShowPicker}
+          onGoToQueries={onGoToQueries}
+          onAddTransformation={onAddTransformation}
+        />
+      );
+
+      const sqlCard = screen.getByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+      // Should NOT show info icon button when default (enabled)
+      expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeNull();
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/PanelDataTransformationsTab.test.tsx b/public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/PanelDataTransformationsTab.test.tsx
index d6aa23f6073..307889d5439 100644
--- a/public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/PanelDataTransformationsTab.test.tsx
+++ b/public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/PanelDataTransformationsTab.test.tsx
@@ -11,9 +11,11 @@ import {
   toDataFrame,
 } from '@grafana/data';
 import { selectors } from '@grafana/e2e-selectors';
+import { DataSourceSrv, getDataSourceSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
 import { SceneDataTransformer, SceneQueryRunner } from '@grafana/scenes';
 import config from 'app/core/config';
 import { getDashboardSrv } from 'app/features/dashboard/services/DashboardSrv';
+import { ExpressionDatasourceUID } from 'app/features/expressions/types';
 import { getStandardTransformers } from 'app/features/transformers/standardTransformers';
 import { DashboardDataDTO } from 'app/types/dashboard';
 
@@ -24,14 +26,40 @@ import { testDashboard } from '../testfiles/testDashboard';
 
 import { PanelDataTransformationsTab, PanelDataTransformationsTabRendered } from './PanelDataTransformationsTab';
 
+// Mock getDataSourceSrv
+jest.mock('@grafana/runtime', () => {
+  const actual = jest.requireActual('@grafana/runtime');
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    getDataSourceSrv: jest.fn(() => ({
+      getInstanceSettings: jest.fn(),
+    })),
+  };
+});
+
+const getDataSourceSrvMock = getDataSourceSrv as jest.MockedFunction<typeof getDataSourceSrv>;
+
+// Helper to create DataSourceSrv mock with custom getInstanceSettings
+const createMockDataSourceSrv = (
+  getInstanceSettingsFn: (ref: { uid?: string; type?: string } | undefined) => unknown
+): DataSourceSrv =>
+  ({
+    get: jest.fn(),
+    getList: jest.fn(),
+    getInstanceSettings: getInstanceSettingsFn,
+    reload: jest.fn(),
+    registerRuntimeDataSource: jest.fn(),
+  }) as unknown as DataSourceSrv;
+
 function createModelMock(
   panelData: PanelData,
   transformations?: DataTransformerConfig[],
-  onChangeTransformationsMock?: Function
+  onChangeTransformationsMock?: Function,
+  queries: Array<{ refId: string; datasource?: { uid?: string; type?: string } }> = []
 ) {
   return {
     getDataTransformer: () => new SceneDataTransformer({ data: panelData, transformations: transformations || [] }),
-    getQueryRunner: () => new SceneQueryRunner({ queries: [], data: panelData }),
+    getQueryRunner: () => new SceneQueryRunner({ queries, data: panelData }),
     onChangeTransformations: onChangeTransformationsMock,
   } as unknown as PanelDataTransformationsTab;
 }
@@ -208,6 +236,149 @@ describe('PanelDataTransformationsTab', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('SQL Expression applicability', () => {
+  standardTransformersRegistry.setInit(getStandardTransformers);
+
+  let originalTransformationsToggle: boolean | undefined;
+  let originalSqlToggle: boolean | undefined;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    originalTransformationsToggle = config.featureToggles.transformationsEmptyPlaceholder;
+    originalSqlToggle = config.featureToggles.sqlExpressions;
+    config.featureToggles.transformationsEmptyPlaceholder = true;
+    config.featureToggles.sqlExpressions = true;
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    config.featureToggles.transformationsEmptyPlaceholder = originalTransformationsToggle;
+    config.featureToggles.sqlExpressions = originalSqlToggle;
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  // Helper to check if the info icon button is present (rendered when disabled)
+  // The IconButton for info renders as a button with an SVG icon
+  // When disabled, there are 2 buttons: the card button and the info icon button
+  const getInfoIconButton = (container: HTMLElement) => {
+    const buttons = container.querySelectorAll('button');
+    return buttons.length > 1 ? buttons[1] : null;
+  };
+
+  it('should enable SQL card when datasource is a backend datasource', async () => {
+    getDataSourceSrvMock.mockReturnValue(
+      createMockDataSourceSrv(() => ({
+        uid: 'prometheus',
+        name: 'Prometheus',
+        meta: { backend: true },
+      }))
+    );
+
+    const modelMock = createModelMock(mockData, [], undefined, [
+      { refId: 'A', datasource: { uid: 'prometheus', type: 'prometheus' } },
+    ]);
+
+    render(<PanelDataTransformationsTabRendered model={modelMock} />);
+
+    const sqlCard = await screen.findByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+    // Card should NOT have disabled background styling - check it's clickable
+    expect(sqlCard).toBeInTheDocument();
+    // The card should not show the disabled info icon button
+    expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('should disable SQL card when datasource is frontend-only', async () => {
+    getDataSourceSrvMock.mockReturnValue(
+      createMockDataSourceSrv(() => ({
+        uid: 'googlesheets',
+        name: 'Google Sheets',
+        meta: { backend: false, isBackend: false },
+      }))
+    );
+
+    const modelMock = createModelMock(mockData, [], undefined, [
+      { refId: 'A', datasource: { uid: 'googlesheets', type: 'grafana-googlesheets-datasource' } },
+    ]);
+
+    render(<PanelDataTransformationsTabRendered model={modelMock} />);
+
+    const sqlCard = await screen.findByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+    // Card should show the disabled info icon button
+    expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('should enable SQL card when datasource settings cannot be found', async () => {
+    // Return undefined for getInstanceSettings - simulating unknown datasource
+    getDataSourceSrvMock.mockReturnValue(createMockDataSourceSrv(() => undefined));
+
+    const modelMock = createModelMock(mockData, [], undefined, [
+      { refId: 'A', datasource: { uid: 'unknown-ds', type: 'unknown' } },
+    ]);
+
+    render(<PanelDataTransformationsTabRendered model={modelMock} />);
+
+    const sqlCard = await screen.findByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+    // Card should NOT be disabled when we can't determine datasource type
+    expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('should skip expression queries when checking SQL applicability', async () => {
+    getDataSourceSrvMock.mockReturnValue(
+      createMockDataSourceSrv((ref) => {
+        if (ref?.uid === ExpressionDatasourceUID) {
+          // Expression datasource - this should be skipped
+          return { uid: ExpressionDatasourceUID, name: 'Expression', meta: { backend: false } };
+        }
+        // Backend datasource
+        return { uid: 'prometheus', name: 'Prometheus', meta: { backend: true } };
+      })
+    );
+
+    const modelMock = createModelMock(mockData, [], undefined, [
+      { refId: 'A', datasource: { uid: 'prometheus', type: 'prometheus' } },
+      { refId: 'B', datasource: { uid: ExpressionDatasourceUID, type: '__expr__' } }, // Expression query
+    ]);
+
+    render(<PanelDataTransformationsTabRendered model={modelMock} />);
+
+    const sqlCard = await screen.findByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+    // Should still be enabled because expression queries are skipped
+    expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('should disable SQL card if any non-expression query uses frontend-only datasource', async () => {
+    getDataSourceSrvMock.mockReturnValue(
+      createMockDataSourceSrv((ref) => {
+        if (ref?.uid === 'googlesheets') {
+          return { uid: 'googlesheets', name: 'Google Sheets', meta: { backend: false, isBackend: false } };
+        }
+        return { uid: 'prometheus', name: 'Prometheus', meta: { backend: true } };
+      })
+    );
+
+    const modelMock = createModelMock(mockData, [], undefined, [
+      { refId: 'A', datasource: { uid: 'prometheus', type: 'prometheus' } },
+      { refId: 'B', datasource: { uid: 'googlesheets', type: 'grafana-googlesheets-datasource' } },
+    ]);
+
+    render(<PanelDataTransformationsTabRendered model={modelMock} />);
+
+    const sqlCard = await screen.findByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+    // Card should be disabled because one datasource is frontend-only
+    expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('should enable SQL card when there are no queries', async () => {
+    getDataSourceSrvMock.mockReturnValue(createMockDataSourceSrv(() => undefined));
+
+    const modelMock = createModelMock(mockData, [], undefined, []);
+
+    render(<PanelDataTransformationsTabRendered model={modelMock} />);
+
+    const sqlCard = await screen.findByTestId('go-to-queries-button');
+    // Card should be enabled when there are no queries
+    expect(getInfoIconButton(sqlCard)).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
 function setupTabScene(panelId: string) {
   const scene = transformSaveModelToScene({ dashboard: testDashboard as unknown as DashboardDataDTO, meta: {} });
   const panel = findVizPanelByKey(scene, panelId)!;