Supported PostgreSQL major versions
APPLIES TO: 
Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Single Server
Important
Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Single Server is on the retirement path. We strongly recommend that you upgrade to Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server. For more information about migrating to Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server, see What's happening to Azure Database for PostgreSQL Single Server?.
See Azure Database for PostgreSQL versioning policy for support policy details.
Azure Database for PostgreSQL currently supports the following major versions:
PostgreSQL version 11
The current minor release is 11.18. Refer to the PostgreSQL documentation to learn more about improvements and fixes in this minor release.
PostgreSQL version 10
The current minor release is 10.22. Refer to the PostgreSQL documentation to learn more about improvements and fixes in this minor release.
PostgreSQL version 9.6 (retired)
To align with Postgres community's versioning policy, Azure Database for PostgreSQL retired PostgreSQL version 9.6 as of November 11, 2021. See Azure Database for PostgreSQL versioning policy for more details and restrictions. If you're running this major version, upgrade to a higher version, preferably to PostgreSQL 11 at your earliest convenience.
PostgreSQL version 9.5 (retired)
To align with Postgres community's versioning policy, Azure Database for PostgreSQL retired PostgreSQL version 9.5 as of February 11, 2021. See Azure Database for PostgreSQL versioning policy for more details and restrictions. If you're running this major version, upgrade to a higher version, preferably to PostgreSQL 11 at your earliest convenience.
Managing upgrades
The PostgreSQL project regularly issues minor releases to fix reported bugs. Azure Database for PostgreSQL automatically patches servers with minor releases during the service's monthly deployments.
Automatic in-place upgrades for major versions aren't supported. To upgrade to a higher major version, you can
- Use one of the methods documented in major version upgrades using dump and restore.
- Use pg_dump and pg_restore to move a database to a server created with the new engine version.
- Use Azure Database Migration service for doing online upgrades.
Version syntax
Before PostgreSQL version 10, the PostgreSQL versioning policy considered a major version upgrade to be an increase in the first or second number. For example, 9.5 to 9.6 was considered a major version upgrade. As of version 10, only a change in the first number is considered a major version upgrade. For example, 10.0 to 10.1 is a minor release upgrade. Version 10 to 11 is a major version upgrade.
Next steps
For information on supported PostgreSQL extensions, see the extensions document.