How to Fix ORA-39142: Incompatible Dump File Version in impdp

While working with Oracle Data Pump (expdp/impdp) to export and import data between different database versions, you may encounter this error during import:

ORA-39142: incompatible version number 5.1 in dump file "your_dump_01.dmp"

This happens when the dump file is exported from a newer Oracle version (e.g., 19c) and imported into an older version (e.g., 12.1) without setting a compatible metadata version.

In this post, you’ll learn why this happens, how to inspect the dump file version, and how to resolve it using the VERSION parameter — with real-world examples and commands.

Problem Scenario

Export performed on Oracle 19c (completes without error):

nohup expdp '"/ as sysdba"' DIRECTORY=your_dir DUMPFILE=your_schema_%U.dmp LOGFILE=your_schema_exp.log SCHEMAS=your_schema COMPRESSION=ALL PARALLEL=4 REUSE_DUMPFILES=Y &

Import attempted on Oracle 12.1:

nohup impdp '"/ as sysdba"' DIRECTORY=your_dir DUMPFILE=your_schema_%U.dmp LOGFILE=target_schema_imp.log REMAP_SCHEMA=your_schema:target_schema PARALLEL=4 &

Full Error (as it appears):

ORA-39001: invalid argument value
ORA-39000: bad dump file specification
ORA-39142: incompatible version number 5.1 in dump file "your_schema_01.dmp"

Why This Happens

Oracle embeds an internal dump file version number based on the database version used for export.

Oracle 12.1 cannot import version 5.1 dump files — that’s why you see the error.

How to Check the Dump File Version

Oracle provides a built-in utility to inspect dump headers, including the dump file version.

✅ Step 1: Create the utility package (run once as SYS)

@?/rdbms/admin/show_dumpfile_info.sql

This creates the SYS.SHOW_DUMPFILE_INFO procedure.

You don’t need to download anything — this script is already included in Oracle installations.

✅ Step 2: Run the dump file inspection command

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON
EXEC SYS.SHOW_DUMPFILE_INFO('your_dir', 'your_schema_01.dmp');

Sample Output:

SQL> SET SERVEROUTPUT ON
SQL> EXEC SYS.SHOW_DUMPFILE_INFO('your_dir','your_schema_01.dmp');
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose..: Obtain details about export dumpfile. Version: 24-JUN-2025
Required.: RDBMS version: 10.2.0.1.0 or higher
. Export Data Pump dumpfile version: 10.1.0.1.0 or higher
Usage....: execute show_dumpfile_info('DIRECTORY', 'DUMPFILE');
Example..: exec show_dumpfile_info('MY_DIR', 'expdp_s.dmp')
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filename.: your_schema_01.dmp
Directory: your_dir
Disk Path: /u01/dumps
Filetype.: 1 (Export Data Pump dumpfile)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
...Database Job Version..........:
...Internal Dump File Version....: 5.1 (Oracle19c Release)   <-- ❗️ Important
...Creation Date.................: Mon Jun 24 08:55:56 2025
...File Number (in dump file set): 1
...Master Present in dump file...: 1 (Yes)
...Job Name......................: "SYS"."SYS_EXPORT_SCHEMA_01"
...GUID (unique job identifier)..: 46BDA47EBD1076AEE053941315ACE706
...Block size dump file (bytes)..: 4096
...Metadata Compressed...........: 1 (Yes)
...Data Compressed...............: 0 (No)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

From this, you can confirm the dump file version (5.1) and whether it’s compatible with your target DB.

✅ The Fix: Use VERSION Parameter During Export

To make the dump compatible with Oracle 12.1, export using the appropriate VERSION:

nohup expdp '"/ as sysdba"' DIRECTORY=your_dir DUMPFILE=your_schema_%U.dmp LOGFILE=your_schema_exp.log SCHEMAS=your_schema COMPRESSION=ALL PARALLEL=4 REUSE_DUMPFILES=Y VERSION=12.1 &

Then import normally:

nohup impdp '"/ as sysdba"' DIRECTORY=your_dir DUMPFILE=your_schema_%U.dmp LOGFILE=target_schema_imp.log REMAP_SCHEMA=your_schema:target_schema PARALLEL=4 &

✅ This ensures the exported dump uses metadata version 4.1, which is compatible with Oracle 12.1.

Summary: When to Use VERSION

Final Notes

• The ORA-39142 error occurs only during import, not export.
• VERSION controls metadata structure, not actual data content.
• Always match VERSION to the lowest version between source and target.
• Use SHOW_DUMPFILE_INFO to verify dump compatibility before running imports in production.