MySQL error 1337 appears when a variable or condition is declared after a cursor or handler inside a stored program block.
MySQL Error 1337: ER_SP_VARCOND_AFTER_CURSHNDLR occurs when you declare a variable or condition after defining a CURSOR or HANDLER in a stored procedure or function. Re-order the DECLARE statements so that all variable and condition declarations appear before any CURSOR or HANDLER declarations to resolve the issue.
Variable or condition declaration after cursor or handler
Error 1337 indicates that a DECLARE statement for a variable or condition appears after a DECLARE CURSOR or DECLARE HANDLER inside the same BEGIN … END block of a stored program. MySQL’s parser requires variables and conditions to be declared first.
The rule applies to stored procedures, functions, triggers, and events. Any violation triggers SQLSTATE 42000 with the message “Variable or condition declaration after cursor or handler.”
MySQL builds an internal declaration list during compilation. Variables and conditions are scoped before executable objects like cursors and handlers. Allowing later declarations would break that ordering logic and complicate memory allocation.
The error appears at CREATE PROCEDURE/FUNCTION time or when you ALTER an existing routine. It never occurs at runtime because the routine cannot be created until the declaration order is correct.
The routine fails to compile, blocking deployment pipelines, CI tasks, and application startup scripts. Fixing the declaration order restores normal workflow.
Placing DECLARE my_var INT; after DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER … causes the error.
Placing DECLARE my_condition CONDITION FOR SQLSTATE '45000'; after a cursor or handler triggers error 1337.
Moving code snippets without adjusting declaration order often introduces the problem.
Some tools append cursor logic before variable declarations, violating MySQL rules.
Triggered when you declare a CURSOR after a HANDLER. Fix by swapping the order.
Occurs when a variable or condition is declared after a cursor handler inside the same block.
Raised when trying to open an already open cursor.
Indicates problems explaining a view due to permissions or syntax.
No. The routine will not compile until you correct the declaration order.
Error 1337 exists in all supported MySQL versions from 5.0 onward; behavior is consistent.
Yes, but declare variables and conditions first. Only the relative order between cursor and handler is flexible.
Galaxy’s real-time syntax checker highlights declaration-order issues and auto-reorders code with one click.
.avif)
.avif){kind=logo}
