Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL: PostgreSQL 18 end of standard support

A database can continue running PostgreSQL 18 past the RDS end of standard support date under RDS Extended Support, for an additional cost (see Amazon RDS Extended Support charges), until the RDS end of Extended Support date.

• If RDS Extended Support was enabled when the DB instance was created or restored, Amazon RDS enrolls it automatically after the RDS end of standard support date, with no change to the database engine, uptime or performance.
• RDS Extended Support provides security updates for critical and high CVEs, bug fixes and patches for critical issues, and the ability to open support cases.
• If enrollment is disabled for a DB instance or DB cluster that is already past its standard support end date, it automatically upgrades to the next supported major version.
• After the RDS end of Extended Support date, Amazon RDS automatically upgrades databases not yet on a supported major version.

1. Before a major version upgrade, follow the steps in Choosing a major version for an RDS for PostgreSQL upgrade.
2. Find the valid upgrade targets for the database in the AWS Management Console or with the AWS CLI.
3. Perform the major version upgrade manually by modifying the DB instance or Multi-AZ DB cluster. In a Multi-AZ DB instance deployment or a Multi-AZ DB cluster deployment, the database might not be available for several minutes while the upgrade completes. See How to perform a major version upgrade for RDS for PostgreSQL.
4. To minimize downtime, use a blue/green deployment, see Using Amazon RDS Blue/Green Deployments for database updates.
5. Amazon RDS does not upgrade Multi-AZ DB cluster read replicas. Their replication state changes to terminated, and they must be deleted and recreated manually after the upgrade completes. In-Region read replicas of a DB instance are upgraded along with the primary DB instance, with an outage until the upgrade is complete.
6. To stay on PostgreSQL 18 under RDS Extended Support, the enrollment status of an existing DB instance or DB cluster can be changed with the EngineLifecycleSupport parameter using the AWS CLI or RDS API. For Multi-AZ DB clusters, modify the setting at the cluster level. RDS Extended Support has an additional cost, see Amazon RDS Extended Support charges.