Oracle Error PLS-00103

Error code

PLS-00103

Product

Oracle Database

Versions

Oracle Database 19c, 21c, 23ai and 26ai (same form)

Category

PL/SQL & Triggers

Last reviewed

24 October 2026

What it means

PLS-00103 is a PL/SQL syntax error: while parsing, the compiler met a token (the "symbol") that cannot appear at that point, and it lists the tokens it would have accepted instead.

The PL/SQL parser reads your code token by token. When the next token does not fit the grammar, it stops and reports PLS-00103, naming the token it found and listing what could legally come next. In an anonymous block the error appears under ORA-06550 with a line and column; for a stored unit it is in SHOW ERRORS and USER_ERRORS.

The key to reading it is in Oracle's action text: check the previous tokens as well as the one in the message, because the line and column refer to the end of the faulty construct. A missing semicolon at the end of line 2 is reported at the first token of line 3, which is why the line named often looks correct. The expected-token list is a hint: if it contains ;, a statement before the reported position was not ended.

Common causes

• A missing semicolon at the end of the previous declaration or statement.
• A missing or mismatched keyword: THEN after IF, LOOP or END LOOP, END IF, or the END of a block, procedure or CASE.
• A reserved word used as a variable, parameter or column alias name without double quotation marks (Oracle's example uses BEGIN).
• A DDL statement such as CREATE TABLE written directly in a block; PL/SQL static SQL does not include DDL, so the parser does not expect CREATE there.
• An unbalanced quotation mark or parenthesis, which makes the parser read later code as part of a string or expression.
• Syntax from another language, such as = for assignment where PL/SQL uses :=.

Diagnose it

Read-only These queries only read the data dictionary (USER_, ALL_ and DBA_ views) and dynamic performance views (V$). They do not change data, privileges or settings, so they are safe to run first. DBA_ and V$ views need the matching privileges.

SELECT name, type, line, position, text
FROM all_errors
WHERE owner = 'SHOP'
  AND name = 'CLOSE_MONTH'
ORDER BY sequence;

SELECT line, text
FROM all_source
WHERE owner = 'SHOP'
  AND name = 'CLOSE_MONTH'
  AND type = 'PROCEDURE'
  AND line BETWEEN 10 AND 15   -- a few lines up to the reported one
ORDER BY line;

How to fix it

Each fix is labelled with what it changes. Try read-only checks and the least invasive fix first, and test changes outside production.

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE shop.close_month (p_month IN DATE)
IS
  v_count NUMBER;   -- the semicolon was missing here
BEGIN
  SELECT COUNT(*) INTO v_count
  FROM shop.orders
  WHERE order_date >= TRUNC(p_month, 'MM')
    AND order_date <  ADD_MONTHS(TRUNC(p_month, 'MM'), 1);
  IF v_count = 0 THEN
    RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR(-20030, 'No orders in this month');
  END IF;
END close_month;
/

BEGIN
  EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'CREATE TABLE shop.month_close_log (closed_on DATE, order_count NUMBER)';
END;
/

Examples

A reserved word used as a name

Not reproduced here: no Oracle Database is installed for this site. This is the documented example and result from Oracle's PL/SQL Language Reference (lexical units); the list of expected tokens is shortened here.

DECLARE
  "HELLO" VARCHAR2(10) := 'hello';   -- HELLO is not a reserved word
  "BEGIN" VARCHAR2(10) := 'begin';   -- BEGIN is a reserved word
BEGIN
  DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(Hello);   -- double quotation marks are optional
  DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(BEGIN);   -- double quotation marks are required
END;
/

ORA-06550: line 6, column 24:
PLS-00103: Encountered the symbol "BEGIN" when expecting one of the following:
( ) - + case mod new not null <an identifier>
<a double-quoted delimited-identifier> <a bind variable>
...

A missing semicolon is reported on the next line

Not reproduced here: no Oracle Database is installed for this site. The message form follows Oracle's documented PLS-00103 examples; the position and the expected-token list (omitted) are illustrative. The error points at BEGIN on line 3 although the mistake is the missing semicolon on line 2, as Oracle's action text describes.

DECLARE
  v_count NUMBER
BEGIN
  SELECT COUNT(*) INTO v_count FROM orders;
END;
/

ORA-06550: line 3, column 1:
PLS-00103: Encountered the symbol "BEGIN" when expecting one of the following:
...

CREATE TABLE written directly in a block

Not reproduced here: no Oracle Database is installed for this site. The message form follows Oracle's documented PLS-00103 examples; the position and the omitted token list are illustrative. Use EXECUTE IMMEDIATE for DDL inside PL/SQL.

BEGIN
  CREATE TABLE month_close_log (closed_on DATE);
END;
/

ORA-06550: line 2, column 3:
PLS-00103: Encountered the symbol "CREATE" when expecting one of the following:
...

How to prevent it

Use an editor or IDE that highlights PL/SQL syntax and matches BEGIN/END and IF/END IF, and compile small pieces often. Use a naming convention (v_, p_, l_ prefixes) that keeps variables from colliding with reserved words.

Keep DDL in deployment scripts rather than in PL/SQL, and when it must be dynamic, build it with EXECUTE IMMEDIATE.

Common questions

Learn more on CodeWithSQL

• Stored procedures and functions
• Advanced stored procedures

Official documentation

• PLS-00103 (Oracle Database Error Messages)
• Lexical units, reserved words and identifiers (Oracle PL/SQL Language Reference 19c)
• Description of static SQL (Oracle PL/SQL Language Reference 19c)
• When you need dynamic SQL (Oracle PL/SQL Language Reference 19c)

Last technically reviewed 24 October 2026; examples and diagnostics run on Oracle Database Error Messages reference (26ai, 21c and 19c); not run locally. Messages and explanations follow Oracle's Database Error Messages reference; no Oracle Database was available, so the examples were not run locally.