How to fix Error creating SQS Queue: AWS.SimpleQueueService.QueueNameExists in Terraform

Check if the queue actually exists using the AWS CLI:

aws sqs list-queues --queue-name-prefix my-queue-name --region us-east-1

Replace "my-queue-name" and "us-east-1" with your actual queue name and region. If the queue URL appears in the output, the queue exists.

If you own the queue and want Terraform to manage it, import it:

aws sqs get-queue-url --queue-name my-queue-name --region us-east-1

Copy the QueueUrl from the output, then:

terraform import aws_sqs_queue.my_queue <queue-url>

Replace "my_queue" with your resource name and use the actual queue URL.

Check if the queue is already tracked in your Terraform state:

terraform state list | grep sqs_queue
terraform state show aws_sqs_queue.my_queue

If the resource exists in state but references the wrong queue, remove and re-import it:

terraform state rm aws_sqs_queue.my_queue
terraform import aws_sqs_queue.my_queue <queue-url>

Let Terraform generate a unique suffix for the queue name:

resource "aws_sqs_queue" "my_queue" {
  name_prefix = "my-queue-"
}

Terraform will create a queue like "my-queue-a1b2c3d4e5f6abcd". This avoids naming conflicts.

Make the queue name unique by including your AWS account ID or environment:

data "aws_caller_identity" "current" {}

resource "aws_sqs_queue" "my_queue" {
  name = "my-queue-${data.aws_caller_identity.current.account_id}"
}

Or include the environment:

resource "aws_sqs_queue" "my_queue" {
  name = "my-queue-${var.environment}"
}

If you no longer need the existing queue, delete it using the AWS CLI:

aws sqs delete-queue --queue-url <queue-url> --region us-east-1

Then run Terraform apply:

terraform apply

Note: AWS has a 60-second grace period after deletion before you can reuse the queue name.

If you just deleted a queue and are trying to recreate it with the same name, AWS requires a 60-second wait:

# Wait 60 seconds
sleep 60

# Then run Terraform apply
terraform apply

This grace period prevents accidental recreation issues and ensures consistency across AWS systems.