Invalid Argument For Xquery — SQLSTATE 10608

SQLSTATE 10608 condition invalid_argument_for_xquery class 10 — XQuery Error severity ERROR
Reproduced & verified on PostgreSQL 14.23, 15.18, 16.14, 17.10 and 18.4 — identical message on every version.
Last reviewed 29 May 2025 · Reproduced live with the SQL on this page.

! Symptoms Free

The server reports SQLSTATE 10608 (invalid_argument_for_xquery), a condition in the XQuery Error class.

  • The error is written to the server log and returned to the client carrying SQLSTATE 10608.
  • Any driver (libpq, JDBC, psycopg, npgsql, pgx) surfaces this code in its error object so you can branch on it programmatically.
  • PL/pgSQL can trap it by name: EXCEPTION WHEN invalid_argument_for_xquery THEN.

1 Environment & reproduce Free

Severity: ERROR  |  PostgreSQL versions: 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Reproduce with the exact statement and read the full message in the server log (raise log_min_messages / set log_min_error_statement for more context).

? Root cause Free

10608 belongs to Class 10 — XQuery Error. In this class, the condition invalid_argument_for_xquery was detected.

The first two characters (10) identify the error class, so application code can match the whole class via 10000 when the specific code is not needed.

3 Recovery & verify Free

Identify the specific condition invalid_argument_for_xquery from the server log and address the underlying cause.

Reference: PostgreSQL error codes — Class 10 (XQuery Error).