> This page location: PostgreSQL PL/pgSQL > Error Messages
> Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt

# PL/pgSQL Errors and Messages

**Summary**: in this tutorial, you will learn how to report messages and raise errors using the `raise` statement.

## Reporting messages

In PL/pgSQL, you use the `raise` statement to issue a message. Here's the syntax of the `raise` statement:

```plsql
raise level format;
```

In this syntax:

### Level

The `level` option determines the error severity with the following values:

- `debug`
- `log`
- `notice`
- `info`
- `warning`
- `exception`

If you don't specify the `level`, the `raise` statement will use `exception` level that raises an error and stops the current transaction by default. We'll discuss the `raise exception` shortly.

### Format

The `format` is a string that specifies the message. The `format` uses percentage ( `%`) placeholders that will be substituted by the arguments.

The number of placeholders must be the same as the number of arguments. Otherwise, PostgreSQL will issue an error:

```
[Err] ERROR:  too many parameters specified for raise
```

The following example illustrates the `raise` statement that reports different messages at the current time.

```plsql
do $$
begin
  raise info 'information message %', now() ;
  raise log 'log message %', now();
  raise debug 'debug message %', now();
  raise warning 'warning message %', now();
  raise notice 'notice message %', now();
end $$;
```

Output:

```
info:  information message 2015-09-10 21:17:39.398+07
warning:  warning message 2015-09-10 21:17:39.398+07
notice:  notice message 2015-09-10 21:17:39.398+07
```

Notice that not all messages are reported back to the client. PostgreSQL only reports the `info`, `warning`, and `notice` level messages back to the client. This is controlled by `client_min_messages` and `log_min_messages` configuration parameters.

## Raising errors

To raise an error, you use the `exception` level after the `raise` statement. The `raise` statement uses the `exception` level by default.

Besides raising an error, you can add more information by using the following additional clause:

```plsql
using option = expression
```

The `option` can be:

- `hint`: provide the hint message so that the root cause of the error is easier to discover.
- `detail`: give detailed information about the error.
- `errcode`: identify the error code, which can be either by condition name or an `SQLSTATE` code. Please refer to the [table of error codes and condition names](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/errcodes-appendix.html).

The `expression` is a string-valued expression.

The following example raises a duplicate email error message:

```plsql
do $$
declare
  email varchar(255) := 'john.doe@example.com';
begin
  -- check email for duplicate
  -- ...
  -- report duplicate email
  raise exception 'duplicate email: %', email
		using hint = 'check the email again';
end $$;
```

```
ERROR:  duplicate email: john.doe@example.com
HINT:  check the email again
CONTEXT:  PL/pgSQL function inline_code_block line 8 at RAISE
```

The following examples illustrate how to raise an `SQLSTATE` and its corresponding condition:

```plsql
do $$
begin
	--...
	raise sqlstate '77777';
end $$;
```

```plsql
do $$
begin
	--...
	raise invalid_regular_expression;
end $$;
```

Now you can use `raise` statement to either raise a message or report an error.

## Summary

- Use the `raise` statement to issue a message in PL/pgSQL.
- Utilize the `using` clause to provide a hint for the error message.

---

## Related docs (PostgreSQL PL/pgSQL)

- [Introduction](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/introduction-to-postgresql-stored-procedures)
- [Block Structure](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-block-structure)
- [Variables](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-variables)
- [Constants](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-constants)
- [IF-ELSE Statements](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-if-else-statements)
- [CASE Statement](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-case-statement)
- [Loop Statements](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-loop-statements)
- [FOR Loop](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-for-loop)
- [WHILE Loop](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/pl-pgsql-while-loop)
- [EXIT Statement](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-exit)
- [CONTINUE Statement](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/pl-pgsql-continue)
- [Cursor](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-cursor)
- [Function Parameters](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-function-parameters)
- [Function Overloading](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-function-overloading)
- [Function Returns Table](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-function-returns-a-table)
- [Returns SETOF](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-returns-setof)
- [Record Types](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/plpgsql-record-types)
- [Row Types](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/pl-pgsql-row-types)
- [Exception Handling](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/postgresql-exception)
- [CREATE FUNCTION](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/postgresql-create-function)
- [CREATE PROCEDURE](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/postgresql-create-procedure)
- [DROP FUNCTION](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/postgresql-drop-function)
- [DROP PROCEDURE](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/postgresql-drop-procedure)
- [Stored Procedure with INOUT Parameters](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/postgresql-stored-procedure-with-inout-parameters)
- [Introduction to Stored Procedures](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/introduction-to-postgresql-stored-procedures)
- [SELECT INTO](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/pl-pgsql-select-into)
- [ASSERT Statement](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/pl-pgsql-assert)
- [Dollar-Quoted String Constants](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-plpgsql/dollar-quoted-string-constants)