SQLSTATE 42501 ERROR

insufficient_privilege permission denied for database sev1_pilot — 42501

PostgreSQL error 42501 — permission denied for database sev1_pilot. A statement was rejected because of how it was written or what value it carried — not because of mis

PG 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 Reviewed Jun 2026

Incident Brief

What happened: A statement was rejected because of how it was written or what value it carried — not because of missing objects or permissions:

ERROR: permission denied for database sev1_pilot

Immediate action: 1. Read the message — it states precisely what PostgreSQL objected to.
2. GRANT CREATE ON DATABASE … TO the role, or perform the action as a role that owns/has rights on the database; only grant d

The fix

Copy-paste · works on PG 14–18
  1. Read the message — it states precisely what PostgreSQL objected to.
  2. GRANT CREATE ON DATABASE ... TO the role, or perform the action as a role that owns/has rights on the database; only grant dat
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