jackc/pgx · error

cannot scan NULL into *time.Time

Error message

cannot scan NULL into *time.Time

What it means

ScanDate was given a NULL Date while scanning into *time.Time, which has no NULL representation. Null guard in timeWrapper; the date column is NULL but the destination is a plain time.Time rather than pgtype.Date or a nullable wrapper.

Solutions

1. Use COALESCE with a sentinel date in the query
2. Scan into pgtype.Date or *time.Time to handle NULLs
3. Ensure the column is NOT NULL

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at pgtype/builtin_wrappers.go:402 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of jackc/pgx@ec1a0befd2 (2026-08-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/11e345990e47b314. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at pgtype/builtin_wrappers.go:402

func (w *stringWrapper) ScanText(v Text) error {
	if !v.Valid {
		return fmt.Errorf("cannot scan NULL into *string")
	}

	*w = stringWrapper(v.String)
	return nil
}

func (w stringWrapper) TextValue() (Text, error) {
	return Text{String: string(w), Valid: true}, nil
}

type timeWrapper time.Time

func (w *timeWrapper) ScanDate(v Date) error {
	if !v.Valid {
		return fmt.Errorf("cannot scan NULL into *time.Time")
	}

	switch v.InfinityModifier {
	case Finite:
		*w = timeWrapper(v.Time)
		return nil
	case Infinity:
		return fmt.Errorf("cannot scan Infinity into *time.Time")
	case NegativeInfinity:
		return fmt.Errorf("cannot scan -Infinity into *time.Time")
	default:
		return fmt.Errorf("invalid InfinityModifier: %v", v.InfinityModifier)
	}
}

func (w timeWrapper) DateValue() (Date, error) {
	return Date{Time: time.Time(w), Valid: true}, nil
}

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