SQLSTATE 3B001 ERROR Class 3B: Savepoint Exception

invalid_savepoint_specification Invalid Savepoint Specification — SQLSTATE 3B001

SQLSTATE 3B001 (invalid_savepoint_specification): A savepoint operation is invalid.

PG 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Official docs
Last reviewed May 2025 Grounded in source

Symptoms

The server reports SQLSTATE 3B001 (invalid_savepoint_specification), a condition in the Savepoint Exception class.

  • The error is written to the server log and returned to the client carrying SQLSTATE 3B001.
  • 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_savepoint_specification THEN.

Environment

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

3B001 belongs to Class 3B — Savepoint Exception. In this class, a savepoint operation is invalid.

The first two characters (3B) identify the error class, so application code can match the whole class via 3B000 when the specific code is not needed.

Diagnostic Queries

Recovery

Create the savepoint before ROLLBACK TO/RELEASE, and do not reference a released savepoint.

Reference: PostgreSQL error codes — Class 3B (Savepoint Exception).

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