PostgreSQL 14 reaches community end of life on November 12, 2026, the date of its final minor release. The big clouds do not cut you off that day: Amazon RDS and Aurora end standard support on February 28, 2027, Azure on January 31, 2027, and Google Cloud SQL moves 14 into extended support on February 1, 2027. After those dates you can stay on 14 only by paying for extended support. Dates below are as confirmed from vendor documentation in October 2026.

What happens on November 12, 2026

The PostgreSQL project lists 14 (first released September 30, 2021) with a final release date of November 12, 2026, according to its versioning policy. The quarterly minor release scheduled for that day, per the release roadmap, is therefore the last one to include 14.x; the next scheduled minor releases (February 2027 onward) will not cover it. The project can still add out-of-band releases for serious problems before then, but nothing is planned after November 12.

From that point, new security fixes for 14 come only from vendors who choose to backport them. The community will not publish them.

Cloud support dates for PostgreSQL 14

  • Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL: end of standard support February 28, 2027. RDS Extended Support begins March 1, 2027, with year 1 pricing; year 3 pricing starts March 1, 2029; Extended Support ends February 28, 2030. Source: the RDS for PostgreSQL release calendar.
  • Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL: the same four dates (February 28, 2027; March 1, 2027; March 1, 2029; February 28, 2030), listed in the Aurora PostgreSQL release calendar. AWS had not yet named which Aurora 14 minor versions are eligible for Extended Support as of October 2026.
  • Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server: standard support ends January 31, 2027. Extended support starts February 1, 2027 and runs to November 11, 2029. Servers are enrolled automatically, and there is no opt-out except upgrading. See Microsoft's version policy and extended support pages.
  • Google Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL: extended support starts February 1, 2027 and the deprecation date is February 1, 2030, according to the Cloud SQL database versions page. Instances on end-of-life major versions are enrolled automatically and billed on top of normal instance costs; see the extended support documentation.

For rates, use each provider's pricing page. Extended support is a paid add-on on all four platforms, and charges stop once the database runs a supported major version.

How AWS extended support is enrolled

On RDS and Aurora, enrollment depends on the EngineLifecycleSupport setting. If it is enabled, the instance or cluster moves into Extended Support after standard support ends, with no change to the engine and no downtime. AWS bills from the day after standard support ends, per its charges page.

The reverse matters more: AWS states that if you disable enrollment on a database already past its standard support date, it upgrades automatically to the next supported major version. Check the setting on every 14 instance before February 28, 2027 so an upgrade does not happen at a time you did not choose.

Which version to upgrade to

According to the PostgreSQL versioning policy, final release dates are November 11, 2027 for 15, November 9, 2028 for 16, November 8, 2029 for 17 and November 14, 2030 for 18. Moving straight to 17 or 18 buys the most time; Azure's version table lists both as supported. Skipping major versions is normal with dump and restore, pg_upgrade or logical replication.

Upgrade checklist

  1. Inventory every 14 instance, replica and snapshot, including dev and staging copies.
  2. List installed extensions and confirm each one is available for the target version on your platform.
  3. Rehearse on a restored copy of production and compare query plans for your slowest queries.
  4. Choose a method: in-place major version upgrade (pg_upgrade underneath), or a logical replication cutover when downtime must be minimal.
  5. Run ANALYZE after the upgrade and re-check monitoring and alerts.

The same deadline discipline applies elsewhere in the stack; see our guides on Kubernetes 1.34 end of life and Python 3.10 on Lambda. More coverage is in Cloud, Infrastructure and Vulnerabilities.

Frequently asked questions

Is PostgreSQL 14 still safe to run after November 12, 2026?

The community stops publishing fixes. Managed services keep patching under paid extended support, but self-hosted servers get no upstream security fixes after that date.

When does Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL 14 stop being supported?

Standard support ends February 28, 2027. Extended Support starts March 1, 2027 and ends February 28, 2030, as of the AWS calendar read in October 2026.

Does Azure charge for PostgreSQL 14 extended support?

Yes. Extended support is billed, and for version 14 it starts on February 1, 2027. Microsoft gave versions 11 to 13 a one-month billing grace period; check the Azure pricing page for current terms on 14. Charges stop once the server runs a supported version.

Can I upgrade directly from 14 to 17 or 18?

Yes. PostgreSQL major upgrades do not have to go one version at a time, but test extensions and application behavior first.