The title compound, [Cu(C12H8N3O2)(N3)(H2O)], was formed by the air oxidation of 2-(amino-meth-yl)pyridine in 95% ethanol in the presence of copper(II) nitrate and sodium azide with condensation of the resulting picolinamide mol-ecules to generate the imide moiety. The Cu(II) ion has a square-pyramidal coordination sphere, the basal plane being occupied by four N atoms [two pyridine (py) N atoms, the imide N atom and an azide N atom] in a nearly planar array [mean deviation = 0.048 (6) Å] with the Cu(II) ion displaced slightly from the plane [0.167 (5) Å] toward the fifth ligand. The apical position is occupied by a coordinating water mol-ecule [Cu-O = 2.319 (4) Å]. The crystal structure is stabilized by hydrogen-bonding inter-actions between the water mol-ecules and carbonyl O atoms. The inversion-related square-pyramidal complex molecules pack base-to-base with long Cu⋯Npy contact distances of 3.537 (9) Å, preventing coordination of a sixth ligand.