Java Multiple Catch Block

Last Updated : 20 Jan, 2026

In Java, exception handling allows a program to deal with runtime errors gracefully. Sometimes, a single try block can throw different types of exceptions, and Java provides two ways to handle such scenarios:

  • Using multiple catch blocks (Java 6 and earlier)
  • Using a single catch block to handle multiple exceptions (Java 7 and later)

Example: Handling Multiple Exceptions

Java 
public class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args){
        
        try{

            // ArithmeticException
            int a = 10 / 0;
            int arr[] = new int[5];

            // ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
            arr[10] = 50;
        }
        catch (ArithmeticException e) {
            System.out.println(
                "Arithmetic Exception occurred");
        }
        catch (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e) {
            System.out.println(
                "Array Index Out Of Bounds Exception occurred");
        }
        catch (Exception e) {
            System.out.println(
                "General Exception occurred");
        }
    }
}

Output
Arithmetic Exception occurred

Syntax

try {
// code that may throw exceptions
} catch (ExceptionType1 | ExceptionType2 ex) {
// exception handling code
}

Parameters: "ex" -> Exception object

Return Type: catch block does not return any value

Multiple Catch Block in Java

Starting from Java 7, Java introduced the multi-catch feature, allowing a single catch block to handle multiple exception types using the pipe (|) operator. This enhancement:

Syntax:

Note: The exception parameter ex is implicitly final in a multi-catch block.

Flow Chart of Java Multiple Catch Block

Example:

Java 
public class MultiCatchExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            int a = Integer.parseInt("ABC"); // NumberFormatException
            int b = 10 / 0;                  // ArithmeticException
        } catch (NumberFormatException | ArithmeticException ex) {
            System.out.println("Exception caught: " + ex);
        }
    }
}

Output
Exception caught: java.lang.NumberFormatException: For input string: "ABC"

Explanation:

  • Either NumberFormatException or ArithmeticException can occur
  • Both are handled using a single catch block

Important Points:  

  • Multi-catch is allowed only from Java 7 onwards.
  • All exception types must be separated using the pipe symbol |.
  • Parent and child exceptions cannot be combined in a multi-catch block.

Invalid Example:

try {

int num = Integer.parseInt("XYZ");

} catch (NumberFormatException | Exception ex) {

System.out.println(ex);

}

Explanation:

  • Exception is the parent class of NumberFormatException
  • Catching both causes redundancy, as the parent already handles the child
  • Java compiler throws an error
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