Is an EF query's null check performed on the db or webserver?

I'm using EF and Sql Server (CE). I'm trying to ensure as much as possible is run on the db. Consider this:

var data =
  getSomeEntities()
  .OrderBy(a => a.Date)
  .Select(a => new {
    Id    = a.Id,
    Name  = a.Name,
    Ref   = a.CustomerProfile != null ? a.CustomerProfile.Ref : null,     // ???
    Email = a.Email
  })
  .ToList();

Is the null check (the line marked with "???") executed on the db, or is materialized first and performed on the web server?

Also, I've noticed some of my code doesn't even perform that null check and works, and in some places if I don't do it then it throws. I wonder if it's even necessary?