SQLSTATE 22009 occurs when PostgreSQL encounters an invalid time zone offset or displacement value. This error typically appears when working with time zone-aware timestamps, interval arithmetic, or when converting between time zones with malformed offset values.
SQLSTATE 22009 belongs to SQL standard class 22 (data exception) and corresponds to the condition "invalid time zone displacement value". In PostgreSQL, this error is raised when a time zone offset or displacement value is syntactically incorrect or falls outside the valid range. Time zone displacements in PostgreSQL are expressed as ±HH:MM (hours and minutes offset from UTC), and must be within the range of -14:00 to +14:00. The error can occur during timestamp operations, interval calculations, or when parsing time zone strings that don't conform to the expected format.
First, locate the exact time zone value causing the error. Check your query for AT TIME ZONE clauses, timestamp literals with time zone, or interval operations:
-- Example query that might cause the error
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE 'invalid-offset';Use PostgreSQL's error context to identify the exact location of the error. If the error occurs during data loading, examine the input data for malformed time zone values.
Ensure time zone offsets follow the correct ±HH:MM format. Valid examples include:
- '+05:30' (India Standard Time)
- '-08:00' (Pacific Standard Time)
- '+00:00' (UTC)
- '-14:00' (minimum valid offset)
- '+14:00' (maximum valid offset)
Invalid examples that cause 22009:
- '+25:00' (exceeds maximum)
- '-15:30' (exceeds minimum)
- '5:30' (missing sign)
- '+05:30:00' (too many components)
- 'UTC+5' (wrong format)
Check your time zone strings against this pattern:
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE '+05:30'; -- Valid
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE '+25:00'; -- Invalid (22009)Instead of using numeric offsets, use recognized time zone names from PostgreSQL's time zone database:
-- Instead of numeric offsets
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE '+05:30';
-- Use time zone names
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE 'Asia/Kolkata';
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE 'America/Los_Angeles';
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE 'UTC';
-- List available time zone names
SELECT * FROM pg_timezone_names ORDER BY name LIMIT 10;Time zone names automatically handle daylight saving time changes and are generally more reliable than fixed offsets.
When performing interval arithmetic with time zones, ensure intervals are properly constructed:
-- Correct interval with time zone
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00+00'::timestamptz + INTERVAL '5 hours';
-- Problematic: mixing time zone offsets incorrectly
SELECT '2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE 'invalid' + INTERVAL '1 day';
-- Use make_interval() for complex interval construction
SELECT make_interval(hours => 5, minutes => 30);If you need to add a time zone offset to a timestamp, convert to timestamptz first:
SELECT ('2025-01-01 12:00:00'::timestamp AT TIME ZONE 'UTC') + INTERVAL '5 hours';When migrating data from other systems, normalize time zone representations:
-- Clean time zone data during migration
CREATE TABLE migrated_timestamps AS
SELECT
id,
-- Convert various time zone formats to PostgreSQL compatible format
CASE
WHEN tz_offset ~ '^[+-]?\d{1,2}:\d{2}$' AND
tz_offset::interval >= INTERVAL '-14 hours' AND
tz_offset::interval <= INTERVAL '14 hours'
THEN tz_offset
ELSE '+00:00' -- Default to UTC for invalid offsets
END AS normalized_tz,
timestamp_value
FROM source_data;
-- Or use time zone names lookup
SELECT
timestamp_value AT TIME ZONE COALESCE(
(SELECT abbrev FROM pg_timezone_names WHERE abbrev = source_tz),
'UTC'
)
FROM source_data;Implement data validation in your ETL pipeline to catch invalid time zone offsets before they reach PostgreSQL.
Add validation in your application code before sending time zone values to PostgreSQL:
// JavaScript example
function validateTimeZoneOffset(offset) {
const regex = /^[+-](0[0-9]|1[0-4]):[0-5][0-9]$/;
if (!regex.test(offset)) return false;
const hours = parseInt(offset.slice(1, 3));
const minutes = parseInt(offset.slice(4, 6));
const totalMinutes = hours * 60 + minutes;
return totalMinutes >= 0 && totalMinutes <= 14 * 60;
}
// Python example
import re
def validate_timezone_offset(offset):
pattern = r'^[+-](0[0-9]|1[0-4]):[0-5][0-9]$'
if not re.match(pattern, offset):
return False
hours = int(offset[1:3])
minutes = int(offset[4:6])
total_minutes = hours * 60 + minutes
return 0 <= total_minutes <= 14 * 60Always prefer using time zone names (like 'America/New_York') over numeric offsets when possible.
PostgreSQL time zone handling follows the SQL standard and IANA time zone database. The ±14:00 limit corresponds to the actual maximum time zone offsets used worldwide (Line Islands at +14:00, Baker Island at -12:00, though -14:00 is reserved for theoretical completeness). When working with historical data, note that time zone rules change over time—PostgreSQL uses the IANA database which includes these historical changes. For high-precision time calculations, consider using UTC internally and converting to local time zones only for display purposes.
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