Can You Catch an Error in Java | Tricky Java Interview Questions — Part 17

Hello Developers,

Welcome to Part 17 of the Tricky Java Interview Questions series.

Today’s question explores Java’s exception mechanism — specifically around the often-confused class called Error:

Can you catch an Error in Java?

Let’s cut straight to it:

✅ Short Answer

Yes, you can catch an Error in Java using a catch block.
But it’s almost always a bad idea to do so.

Let’s understand what Error really is, and why Java allows it — even though you're almost never supposed to use it that way.

Java Exception Hierarchy Recap

In Java, everything that can be thrown inherits from Throwable.

             Throwable
             /       \
         Error     Exception

• Exception: For conditions your code should try to handle (e.g., IOException, NullPointerException)
• Error: For conditions your code should NOT try to handle (e.g., OutOfMemoryError, StackOverflowError)

✅ Yes, Error Is Catchable

public class CatchErrorExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            throw new StackOverflowError("Custom SOE");
        } catch (Error e) {
            System.out.println("Caught Error: "…