diff --git a/llmfoundry/command_utils/data_prep/convert_delta_to_json.py b/llmfoundry/command_utils/data_prep/convert_delta_to_json.py
index 666d0278c6..d676fc2165 100644
--- a/llmfoundry/command_utils/data_prep/convert_delta_to_json.py
+++ b/llmfoundry/command_utils/data_prep/convert_delta_to_json.py
@@ -233,7 +233,27 @@ def run_query(
     elif method == 'dbconnect':
         if spark == None:
             raise ValueError(f'sparkSession is required for dbconnect')
-        df = spark.sql(query)
+
+        try:
+            df = spark.sql(query)
+        except Exception as e:
+            from pyspark.errors import AnalysisException
+            if isinstance(e, AnalysisException):
+                if 'INSUFFICIENT_PERMISSIONS' in e.message:  # pyright: ignore
+                    match = re.search(
+                        r"Schema\s+'([^']+)'",
+                        e.message,  # pyright: ignore
+                    )
+                    if match:
+                        schema_name = match.group(1)
+                        action = f'using the schema {schema_name}'
+                    else:
+                        action = 'using the schema'
+                    raise InsufficientPermissionsError(action=action,) from e
+            raise RuntimeError(
+                f'Error in querying into schema. Restart sparkSession and try again',
+            ) from e
+
         if collect:
             return df.collect()
         return df
@@ -461,6 +481,8 @@ def fetch(
                 raise InsufficientPermissionsError(
                     action=f'reading from {tablename}',
                 ) from e
+        if isinstance(e, InsufficientPermissionsError):
+            raise e
         raise RuntimeError(
             f'Error in get rows from {tablename}. Restart sparkSession and try again',
         ) from e
diff --git a/tests/a_scripts/data_prep/test_convert_delta_to_json.py b/tests/a_scripts/data_prep/test_convert_delta_to_json.py
index e623467bf7..bbb03a26d9 100644
--- a/tests/a_scripts/data_prep/test_convert_delta_to_json.py
+++ b/tests/a_scripts/data_prep/test_convert_delta_to_json.py
@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
 # Copyright 2022 MosaicML LLM Foundry authors
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+import sys
 import unittest
 from argparse import Namespace
 from typing import Any
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, mock_open, patch
 
 from llmfoundry.command_utils.data_prep.convert_delta_to_json import (
+    InsufficientPermissionsError,
     download,
     fetch_DT,
     format_tablename,
@@ -17,6 +19,39 @@
 
 class TestConvertDeltaToJsonl(unittest.TestCase):
 
+    def test_run_query_dbconnect_insufficient_permissions(self):
+        error_message = (
+            '[INSUFFICIENT_PERMISSIONS] Insufficient privileges: User does not have USE SCHEMA '
+            "on Schema 'main.oogabooga'. SQLSTATE: 42501"
+        )
+
+        class MockAnalysisException(Exception):
+
+            def __init__(self, message: str):
+                self.message = message
+
+        with patch.dict('sys.modules', {'pyspark.errors': MagicMock()}):
+            sys.modules[
+                'pyspark.errors'
+            ].AnalysisException = MockAnalysisException  # pyright: ignore
+
+            mock_spark = MagicMock()
+            mock_spark.sql.side_effect = MockAnalysisException(error_message)
+
+            with self.assertRaises(InsufficientPermissionsError) as context:
+                run_query(
+                    'SELECT * FROM table',
+                    method='dbconnect',
+                    cursor=None,
+                    spark=mock_spark,
+                )
+
+            self.assertIn(
+                'using the schema main.oogabooga',
+                str(context.exception),
+            )
+            mock_spark.sql.assert_called_once_with('SELECT * FROM table')
+
     @patch(
         'databricks.sql.connect',
     )