---
type: concept
x-llmwiki:
  schemaVersion: "0.1"
  contentHash: 7d1ba653d25a0b7d94142f399cd998f3324a6a57ca7215f727068233780eda27
  pageDirectory: concepts
  sources:
    - delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md
  confidence: 0.96
  provenanceState: extracted
  freshnessStatus: unverified
  aliases:
    - delta-lake-partition-spec-immutability-in-icebergcompatv1
    - DLPSIII
  citations:
    - file: delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md
title: Delta Lake Partition Spec Immutability in IcebergCompatV1
description: The restriction that replacing a partitioned table with a differently-named partition spec is disallowed when IcebergCompatV1 is enabled, mirroring a limitation in Iceberg-Spark 1.1.0.
tags:
  - delta-lake
  - partitioning
  - iceberg
timestamp: "2026-06-19T10:05:59.471Z"
---

Here is the wiki page for "Delta Lake Partition Spec Immutability in IcebergCompatV1", written solely from the provided source material.

---

## Delta Lake Partition Spec Immutability in IcebergCompatV1

**Delta Lake Partition Spec Immutability in IcebergCompatV1** refers to a constraint enforced by the [IcebergCompatV1](/concepts/icebergcompatv.md) protocol that prevents replacing a partitioned table with a differently-named partition specification. Once a table uses IcebergCompatV1, the names of its partition columns cannot be changed through operations like `REPLACE TABLE`.

### Overview

When a [Delta Lake Table](/concepts/delta-lake-table.md) has the `IcebergCompatV1` table property enabled, the partition specification is treated as immutable. This ensures compatibility with Apache Iceberg-Spark 1.1.0, which does not support renaming partition columns during a table replacement. ^[delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md]

### Error Condition

If you attempt to replace a partitioned table that uses IcebergCompatV1 with a new partition spec that has different column names, the operation fails with the `REPLACE_TABLE_CHANGE_PARTITION_NAMES` subtype of the `DELTA_ICEBERG_COMPAT_V1_VIOLATION` error class. ^[delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md]

The error message includes both the previous and the new partition specification:

```
IcebergCompatV1 doesn't support replacing partitioned tables with a differently-named partition spec, because Iceberg-Spark 1.1.0 doesn't.

Prev Partition Spec: <prevPartitionSpec>
New Partition Spec: <newPartitionSpec>
```

^[delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md]

### Cause

The root cause is a limitation in [Apache Iceberg](/concepts/uniform-apache-iceberg-format.md)'s Spark connector (version 1.1.0), which does not support renaming partition columns during a table replacement. To maintain compatibility with Iceberg readers, Delta Lake's IcebergCompatV1 protocol inherits this restriction. ^[delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md]

### Resolution

To change the partition spec of a table that has IcebergCompatV1 enabled, you must first disable IcebergCompatV1 on the table, perform the partition change, and then re-enable IcebergCompatV1. ^[delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md]

### Related Error Subtypes

The `DELTA_ICEBERG_COMPAT_V1_VIOLATION` error class includes several other subtypes related to IcebergCompatV1 enforcement:

- DISABLING_REQUIRED_TABLE_FEATURE — Raised when trying to drop a feature required by IcebergCompatV1.
- INCOMPATIBLE_TABLE_FEATURE — Raised when an incompatible table feature is present.
- MISSING_REQUIRED_TABLE_FEATURE — Raised when a required table feature is missing.
- UNSUPPORTED_DATA_TYPE — Raised when the schema contains `MapType`, `ArrayType`, or `NullType`.
- WRONG_REQUIRED_TABLE_PROPERTY — Raised when a required table property is set to an incorrect value.

### Related Concepts

- [IcebergCompatV1](/concepts/icebergcompatv.md) — The Delta Lake protocol that enforces Iceberg compatibility.
- DELTA_ICEBERG_COMPAT_V1_VIOLATION — The parent error class for IcebergCompatV1 violations.
- [Delta Lake Partitioning](/concepts/delta-lake-partitioning-constraints.md) — General concepts for partitioning Delta tables.
- Apache Iceberg Compatibility — The broader requirement for interoperability between Delta Lake and Iceberg.

## Sources

- delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md

# Citations

1. [delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws.md](/references/delta_iceberg_compat_v1_violation-error-class-databricks-on-aws-da04bc25.md)
