statement_too_complex Statement Too Complex — SQLSTATE 54001

The statement is too complex to process.

• The error is written to the server log and returned to the client carrying SQLSTATE 54001.
• 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 statement_too_complex THEN.

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

Most often seen under load or on under-provisioned servers; correlate it with system metrics (CPU, memory, disk, connection count) at the time of the error.

Parser/planner limits were exceeded by an overly complex statement.

Steps to resolve 54001:

1. Break the query into smaller parts or temporary tables.
2. Reduce nesting and the number of expressions.

Reference: PostgreSQL error codes — Class 54 (Program Limit Exceeded).