---
title: "ALTER OPERATOR CLASS"
id: sql-alteropclass
pg_version: "20devel"
---

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# ALTER OPERATOR CLASS — change the definition of an operator class

## Synopsis

```
ALTER OPERATOR CLASS name USING index_method
    RENAME TO new_name

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS name USING index_method
    OWNER TO { new_owner | CURRENT_ROLE | CURRENT_USER | SESSION_USER }

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS name USING index_method
    SET SCHEMA new_schema
```

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## Description

`ALTER OPERATOR CLASS` changes the definition of an operator class. 

You must own the operator class to use `ALTER OPERATOR CLASS`. To alter the owner, you must be able to `SET ROLE` to the new owning role, and that role must have `CREATE` privilege on the operator class's schema. (These restrictions enforce that altering the owner doesn't do anything you couldn't do by dropping and recreating the operator class. However, a superuser can alter ownership of any operator class anyway.) 

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## Parameters

**`name`**

 The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing operator class. **`index_method`**

 The name of the index method this operator class is for. **`new_name`**

 The new name of the operator class. **`new_owner`**

 The new owner of the operator class. **`new_schema`**

 The new schema for the operator class. <a id="id-1.9.3.21.7"></a>

## Compatibility

There is no `ALTER OPERATOR CLASS` statement in the SQL standard. 

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## See Also

[CREATE OPERATOR CLASS](sql-createopclass.md), [DROP OPERATOR CLASS](sql-dropopclass.md), [ALTER OPERATOR FAMILY](sql-alteropfamily.md)