configuration_limit_exceeded Configuration Limit Exceeded — SQLSTATE 53400

A configured resource limit was exceeded.

• The error is written to the server log and returned to the client carrying SQLSTATE 53400.
• 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 configuration_limit_exceeded 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.

A finite configured limit (shared memory, prepared transactions, locks per transaction) was hit.

Steps to resolve 53400:

1. Identify the limiting parameter from the log.
2. Raise it appropriately (kernel shared memory, max_prepared_transactions, max_locks_per_transaction) and restart if required.

Reference: PostgreSQL error codes — Class 53 (Insufficient Resources).