diff --git a/pgconn/pgconn.go b/pgconn/pgconn.go
index ad81ec60a..0bf03f335 100644
--- a/pgconn/pgconn.go
+++ b/pgconn/pgconn.go
@@ -1674,25 +1674,55 @@ func (rr *ResultReader) concludeCommand(commandTag CommandTag, err error) {
 // Batch is a collection of queries that can be sent to the PostgreSQL server in a single round-trip.
 type Batch struct {
 	buf []byte
+	err error
 }
 
 // ExecParams appends an ExecParams command to the batch. See PgConn.ExecParams for parameter descriptions.
 func (batch *Batch) ExecParams(sql string, paramValues [][]byte, paramOIDs []uint32, paramFormats []int16, resultFormats []int16) {
-	batch.buf = (&pgproto3.Parse{Query: sql, ParameterOIDs: paramOIDs}).Encode(batch.buf)
+	if batch.err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	batch.buf, batch.err = (&pgproto3.Parse{Query: sql, ParameterOIDs: paramOIDs}).Encode(batch.buf)
+	if batch.err != nil {
+		return
+	}
 	batch.ExecPrepared("", paramValues, paramFormats, resultFormats)
 }
 
 // ExecPrepared appends an ExecPrepared e command to the batch. See PgConn.ExecPrepared for parameter descriptions.
 func (batch *Batch) ExecPrepared(stmtName string, paramValues [][]byte, paramFormats []int16, resultFormats []int16) {
-	batch.buf = (&pgproto3.Bind{PreparedStatement: stmtName, ParameterFormatCodes: paramFormats, Parameters: paramValues, ResultFormatCodes: resultFormats}).Encode(batch.buf)
-	batch.buf = (&pgproto3.Describe{ObjectType: 'P'}).Encode(batch.buf)
-	batch.buf = (&pgproto3.Execute{}).Encode(batch.buf)
+	if batch.err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	batch.buf, batch.err = (&pgproto3.Bind{PreparedStatement: stmtName, ParameterFormatCodes: paramFormats, Parameters: paramValues, ResultFormatCodes: resultFormats}).Encode(batch.buf)
+	if batch.err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	batch.buf, batch.err = (&pgproto3.Describe{ObjectType: 'P'}).Encode(batch.buf)
+	if batch.err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	batch.buf, batch.err = (&pgproto3.Execute{}).Encode(batch.buf)
+	if batch.err != nil {
+		return
+	}
 }
 
 // ExecBatch executes all the queries in batch in a single round-trip. Execution is implicitly transactional unless a
 // transaction is already in progress or SQL contains transaction control statements. This is a simpler way of executing
 // multiple queries in a single round trip than using pipeline mode.
 func (pgConn *PgConn) ExecBatch(ctx context.Context, batch *Batch) *MultiResultReader {
+	if batch.err != nil {
+		return &MultiResultReader{
+			closed: true,
+			err:    batch.err,
+		}
+	}
+
 	if err := pgConn.lock(); err != nil {
 		return &MultiResultReader{
 			closed: true,
@@ -1718,7 +1748,13 @@ func (pgConn *PgConn) ExecBatch(ctx context.Context, batch *Batch) *MultiResultR
 		pgConn.contextWatcher.Watch(ctx)
 	}
 
-	batch.buf = (&pgproto3.Sync{}).Encode(batch.buf)
+	batch.buf, batch.err = (&pgproto3.Sync{}).Encode(batch.buf)
+	if batch.err != nil {
+		multiResult.closed = true
+		multiResult.err = batch.err
+		pgConn.unlock()
+		return multiResult
+	}
 
 	pgConn.enterPotentialWriteReadDeadlock()
 	defer pgConn.exitPotentialWriteReadDeadlock()
diff --git a/pgconn/pgconn_test.go b/pgconn/pgconn_test.go
index f04fa79ad..b77d21c17 100644
--- a/pgconn/pgconn_test.go
+++ b/pgconn/pgconn_test.go
@@ -3363,9 +3363,9 @@ func TestSNISupport(t *testing.T) {
 					return
 				}
 
-				srv.Write((&pgproto3.AuthenticationOk{}).Encode(nil))
-				srv.Write((&pgproto3.BackendKeyData{ProcessID: 0, SecretKey: 0}).Encode(nil))
-				srv.Write((&pgproto3.ReadyForQuery{TxStatus: 'I'}).Encode(nil))
+				srv.Write(mustEncode((&pgproto3.AuthenticationOk{}).Encode(nil)))
+				srv.Write(mustEncode((&pgproto3.BackendKeyData{ProcessID: 0, SecretKey: 0}).Encode(nil)))
+				srv.Write(mustEncode((&pgproto3.ReadyForQuery{TxStatus: 'I'}).Encode(nil)))
 
 				serverSNINameChan <- sniHost
 			}()
@@ -3472,3 +3472,10 @@ func TestFatalErrorReceivedInPipelineMode(t *testing.T) {
 	err = pipeline.Close()
 	require.Error(t, err)
 }
+
+func mustEncode(buf []byte, err error) []byte {
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	return buf
+}
diff --git a/pgproto3/authentication_cleartext_password.go b/pgproto3/authentication_cleartext_password.go
index d8f98b9af..ac2962e9e 100644
--- a/pgproto3/authentication_cleartext_password.go
+++ b/pgproto3/authentication_cleartext_password.go
@@ -35,11 +35,10 @@ func (dst *AuthenticationCleartextPassword) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *AuthenticationCleartextPassword) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'R')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, 8)
+func (src *AuthenticationCleartextPassword) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'R')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, AuthTypeCleartextPassword)
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/authentication_gss.go b/pgproto3/authentication_gss.go
index 0d234222f..178ef31d8 100644
--- a/pgproto3/authentication_gss.go
+++ b/pgproto3/authentication_gss.go
@@ -27,11 +27,10 @@ func (a *AuthenticationGSS) Decode(src []byte) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (a *AuthenticationGSS) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'R')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, 4)
+func (a *AuthenticationGSS) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'R')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, AuthTypeGSS)
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 func (a *AuthenticationGSS) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
diff --git a/pgproto3/authentication_gss_continue.go b/pgproto3/authentication_gss_continue.go
index 63789dc1a..2ba3f3b3e 100644
--- a/pgproto3/authentication_gss_continue.go
+++ b/pgproto3/authentication_gss_continue.go
@@ -31,12 +31,11 @@ func (a *AuthenticationGSSContinue) Decode(src []byte) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (a *AuthenticationGSSContinue) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'R')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, int32(len(a.Data))+8)
+func (a *AuthenticationGSSContinue) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'R')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, AuthTypeGSSCont)
 	dst = append(dst, a.Data...)
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 func (a *AuthenticationGSSContinue) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
diff --git a/pgproto3/authentication_md5_password.go b/pgproto3/authentication_md5_password.go
index 5671c84c5..854c6404e 100644
--- a/pgproto3/authentication_md5_password.go
+++ b/pgproto3/authentication_md5_password.go
@@ -38,12 +38,11 @@ func (dst *AuthenticationMD5Password) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *AuthenticationMD5Password) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'R')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, 12)
+func (src *AuthenticationMD5Password) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'R')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, AuthTypeMD5Password)
 	dst = append(dst, src.Salt[:]...)
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/authentication_ok.go b/pgproto3/authentication_ok.go
index 88d648ae7..ec11d39f1 100644
--- a/pgproto3/authentication_ok.go
+++ b/pgproto3/authentication_ok.go
@@ -35,11 +35,10 @@ func (dst *AuthenticationOk) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *AuthenticationOk) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'R')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, 8)
+func (src *AuthenticationOk) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'R')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, AuthTypeOk)
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/authentication_sasl.go b/pgproto3/authentication_sasl.go
index 59650d4cd..e66580f44 100644
--- a/pgproto3/authentication_sasl.go
+++ b/pgproto3/authentication_sasl.go
@@ -47,10 +47,8 @@ func (dst *AuthenticationSASL) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *AuthenticationSASL) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'R')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *AuthenticationSASL) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'R')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, AuthTypeSASL)
 
 	for _, s := range src.AuthMechanisms {
@@ -59,9 +57,7 @@ func (src *AuthenticationSASL) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 	}
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/authentication_sasl_continue.go b/pgproto3/authentication_sasl_continue.go
index 2ce70a477..70fba4a67 100644
--- a/pgproto3/authentication_sasl_continue.go
+++ b/pgproto3/authentication_sasl_continue.go
@@ -38,17 +38,11 @@ func (dst *AuthenticationSASLContinue) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *AuthenticationSASLContinue) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'R')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *AuthenticationSASLContinue) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'R')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, AuthTypeSASLContinue)
-
 	dst = append(dst, src.Data...)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/authentication_sasl_final.go b/pgproto3/authentication_sasl_final.go
index a38a8b912..84976c2a3 100644
--- a/pgproto3/authentication_sasl_final.go
+++ b/pgproto3/authentication_sasl_final.go
@@ -38,17 +38,11 @@ func (dst *AuthenticationSASLFinal) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *AuthenticationSASLFinal) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'R')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *AuthenticationSASLFinal) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'R')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, AuthTypeSASLFinal)
-
 	dst = append(dst, src.Data...)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Unmarshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/backend.go b/pgproto3/backend.go
index efa909c3a..d146c3384 100644
--- a/pgproto3/backend.go
+++ b/pgproto3/backend.go
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ type Backend struct {
 	// before it is actually transmitted (i.e. before Flush).
 	tracer *tracer
 
-	wbuf []byte
+	wbuf        []byte
+	encodeError error
 
 	// Frontend message flyweights
 	bind           Bind
@@ -55,11 +56,21 @@ func NewBackend(r io.Reader, w io.Writer) *Backend {
 	return &Backend{cr: cr, w: w}
 }
 
-// Send sends a message to the frontend (i.e. the client). The message is not guaranteed to be written until Flush is
-// called.
+// Send sends a message to the frontend (i.e. the client). The message is buffered until Flush is called. Any error
+// encountered will be returned from Flush.
 func (b *Backend) Send(msg BackendMessage) {
+	if b.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(b.wbuf)
-	b.wbuf = msg.Encode(b.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(b.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		b.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	b.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if b.tracer != nil {
 		b.tracer.traceMessage('B', int32(len(b.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
@@ -67,6 +78,12 @@ func (b *Backend) Send(msg BackendMessage) {
 
 // Flush writes any pending messages to the frontend (i.e. the client).
 func (b *Backend) Flush() error {
+	if err := b.encodeError; err != nil {
+		b.encodeError = nil
+		b.wbuf = b.wbuf[:0]
+		return &writeError{err: err, safeToRetry: true}
+	}
+
 	n, err := b.w.Write(b.wbuf)
 
 	const maxLen = 1024
diff --git a/pgproto3/backend_key_data.go b/pgproto3/backend_key_data.go
index 12c608170..23f5da677 100644
--- a/pgproto3/backend_key_data.go
+++ b/pgproto3/backend_key_data.go
@@ -29,12 +29,11 @@ func (dst *BackendKeyData) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *BackendKeyData) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'K')
-	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, 12)
+func (src *BackendKeyData) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'K')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, src.ProcessID)
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, src.SecretKey)
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/backend_test.go b/pgproto3/backend_test.go
index 5655122a8..5107ef76a 100644
--- a/pgproto3/backend_test.go
+++ b/pgproto3/backend_test.go
@@ -71,8 +71,8 @@ func TestStartupMessage(t *testing.T) {
 				"username": "tester",
 			},
 		}
-		dst := []byte{}
-		dst = want.Encode(dst)
+		dst, err := want.Encode([]byte{})
+		require.NoError(t, err)
 
 		server := &interruptReader{}
 		server.push(dst)
diff --git a/pgproto3/bind.go b/pgproto3/bind.go
index fdd2d3b81..b32cd81ca 100644
--- a/pgproto3/bind.go
+++ b/pgproto3/bind.go
@@ -108,10 +108,8 @@ func (dst *Bind) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Bind) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'B')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *Bind) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'B')
 
 	dst = append(dst, src.DestinationPortal...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
@@ -139,9 +137,7 @@ func (src *Bind) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 		dst = pgio.AppendInt16(dst, fc)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/bind_complete.go b/pgproto3/bind_complete.go
index 3be256c89..bacf30d88 100644
--- a/pgproto3/bind_complete.go
+++ b/pgproto3/bind_complete.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *BindComplete) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *BindComplete) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, '2', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *BindComplete) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, '2', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/bind_test.go b/pgproto3/bind_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6ec0e0245
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pgproto3/bind_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+package pgproto3_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgproto3"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestBindBiggerThanMaxMessageBodyLen(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// Maximum allowed size.
+	_, err := (&pgproto3.Bind{Parameters: [][]byte{make([]byte, pgproto3.MaxMessageBodyLen-16)}}).Encode(nil)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// 1 byte too big
+	_, err = (&pgproto3.Bind{Parameters: [][]byte{make([]byte, pgproto3.MaxMessageBodyLen-15)}}).Encode(nil)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+}
diff --git a/pgproto3/cancel_request.go b/pgproto3/cancel_request.go
index 8fcf8217a..6b52dd977 100644
--- a/pgproto3/cancel_request.go
+++ b/pgproto3/cancel_request.go
@@ -36,12 +36,12 @@ func (dst *CancelRequest) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CancelRequest) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
+func (src *CancelRequest) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
 	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, 16)
 	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, cancelRequestCode)
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, src.ProcessID)
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, src.SecretKey)
-	return dst
+	return dst, nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/close.go b/pgproto3/close.go
index f99b59439..0b50f27cb 100644
--- a/pgproto3/close.go
+++ b/pgproto3/close.go
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type Close struct {
@@ -37,18 +35,12 @@ func (dst *Close) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Close) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'C')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
-
+func (src *Close) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'C')
 	dst = append(dst, src.ObjectType)
 	dst = append(dst, src.Name...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/close_complete.go b/pgproto3/close_complete.go
index 1d7b8f085..833f7a12c 100644
--- a/pgproto3/close_complete.go
+++ b/pgproto3/close_complete.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *CloseComplete) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CloseComplete) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, '3', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *CloseComplete) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, '3', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/command_complete.go b/pgproto3/command_complete.go
index 814027ca1..eba70947d 100644
--- a/pgproto3/command_complete.go
+++ b/pgproto3/command_complete.go
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ package pgproto3
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type CommandComplete struct {
@@ -31,17 +29,11 @@ func (dst *CommandComplete) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CommandComplete) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'C')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
-
+func (src *CommandComplete) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'C')
 	dst = append(dst, src.CommandTag...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/copy_both_response.go b/pgproto3/copy_both_response.go
index 8840a89ec..dbbd8e15c 100644
--- a/pgproto3/copy_both_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/copy_both_response.go
@@ -44,19 +44,15 @@ func (dst *CopyBothResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CopyBothResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'W')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *CopyBothResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'W')
 	dst = append(dst, src.OverallFormat)
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, uint16(len(src.ColumnFormatCodes)))
 	for _, fc := range src.ColumnFormatCodes {
 		dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, fc)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/copy_both_response_test.go b/pgproto3/copy_both_response_test.go
index 4437de1da..1c988f21d 100644
--- a/pgproto3/copy_both_response_test.go
+++ b/pgproto3/copy_both_response_test.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgproto3"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestEncodeDecode(t *testing.T) {
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ func TestEncodeDecode(t *testing.T) {
 	err := dstResp.Decode(srcBytes[5:])
 	assert.NoError(t, err, "No errors on decode")
 	dstBytes := []byte{}
-	dstBytes = dstResp.Encode(dstBytes)
+	dstBytes, err = dstResp.Encode(dstBytes)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.EqualValues(t, srcBytes, dstBytes, "Expecting src & dest bytes to match")
 }
diff --git a/pgproto3/copy_data.go b/pgproto3/copy_data.go
index 59e3dd942..89ecdd4dd 100644
--- a/pgproto3/copy_data.go
+++ b/pgproto3/copy_data.go
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ package pgproto3
 import (
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"encoding/json"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type CopyData struct {
@@ -25,11 +23,10 @@ func (dst *CopyData) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CopyData) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'd')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, int32(4+len(src.Data)))
+func (src *CopyData) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'd')
 	dst = append(dst, src.Data...)
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/copy_done.go b/pgproto3/copy_done.go
index 0e13282bf..040814dbd 100644
--- a/pgproto3/copy_done.go
+++ b/pgproto3/copy_done.go
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ func (dst *CopyDone) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CopyDone) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, 'c', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *CopyDone) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, 'c', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/copy_fail.go b/pgproto3/copy_fail.go
index 0041bbb1d..72a85fd09 100644
--- a/pgproto3/copy_fail.go
+++ b/pgproto3/copy_fail.go
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ package pgproto3
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type CopyFail struct {
@@ -28,17 +26,11 @@ func (dst *CopyFail) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CopyFail) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'f')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
-
+func (src *CopyFail) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'f')
 	dst = append(dst, src.Message...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/copy_in_response.go b/pgproto3/copy_in_response.go
index 4584f7df2..0a772afa0 100644
--- a/pgproto3/copy_in_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/copy_in_response.go
@@ -44,10 +44,8 @@ func (dst *CopyInResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CopyInResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'G')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *CopyInResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'G')
 
 	dst = append(dst, src.OverallFormat)
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, uint16(len(src.ColumnFormatCodes)))
@@ -55,9 +53,7 @@ func (src *CopyInResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 		dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, fc)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/copy_out_response.go b/pgproto3/copy_out_response.go
index 3175c6a40..40525da62 100644
--- a/pgproto3/copy_out_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/copy_out_response.go
@@ -43,10 +43,8 @@ func (dst *CopyOutResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *CopyOutResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'H')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *CopyOutResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'H')
 
 	dst = append(dst, src.OverallFormat)
 
@@ -55,9 +53,7 @@ func (src *CopyOutResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 		dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, fc)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/data_row.go b/pgproto3/data_row.go
index 4de779772..cbc76dc24 100644
--- a/pgproto3/data_row.go
+++ b/pgproto3/data_row.go
@@ -63,10 +63,8 @@ func (dst *DataRow) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *DataRow) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'D')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *DataRow) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'D')
 
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, uint16(len(src.Values)))
 	for _, v := range src.Values {
@@ -79,9 +77,7 @@ func (src *DataRow) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 		dst = append(dst, v...)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/describe.go b/pgproto3/describe.go
index f131d1f48..89feff215 100644
--- a/pgproto3/describe.go
+++ b/pgproto3/describe.go
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type Describe struct {
@@ -37,18 +35,12 @@ func (dst *Describe) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Describe) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'D')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
-
+func (src *Describe) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'D')
 	dst = append(dst, src.ObjectType)
 	dst = append(dst, src.Name...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/empty_query_response.go b/pgproto3/empty_query_response.go
index 2b85e744b..cb6cca073 100644
--- a/pgproto3/empty_query_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/empty_query_response.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *EmptyQueryResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *EmptyQueryResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, 'I', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *EmptyQueryResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, 'I', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/error_response.go b/pgproto3/error_response.go
index 45c9a9810..6ef9bd061 100644
--- a/pgproto3/error_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/error_response.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package pgproto3
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
-	"encoding/binary"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"strconv"
 )
@@ -111,119 +110,113 @@ func (dst *ErrorResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *ErrorResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, src.marshalBinary('E')...)
+func (src *ErrorResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'E')
+	dst = src.appendFields(dst)
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
-func (src *ErrorResponse) marshalBinary(typeByte byte) []byte {
-	var bigEndian BigEndianBuf
-	buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
-
-	buf.WriteByte(typeByte)
-	buf.Write(bigEndian.Uint32(0))
-
+func (src *ErrorResponse) appendFields(dst []byte) []byte {
 	if src.Severity != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('S')
-		buf.WriteString(src.Severity)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'S')
+		dst = append(dst, src.Severity...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.SeverityUnlocalized != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('V')
-		buf.WriteString(src.SeverityUnlocalized)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'V')
+		dst = append(dst, src.SeverityUnlocalized...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.Code != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('C')
-		buf.WriteString(src.Code)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'C')
+		dst = append(dst, src.Code...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.Message != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('M')
-		buf.WriteString(src.Message)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'M')
+		dst = append(dst, src.Message...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.Detail != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('D')
-		buf.WriteString(src.Detail)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'D')
+		dst = append(dst, src.Detail...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.Hint != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('H')
-		buf.WriteString(src.Hint)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'H')
+		dst = append(dst, src.Hint...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.Position != 0 {
-		buf.WriteByte('P')
-		buf.WriteString(strconv.Itoa(int(src.Position)))
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'P')
+		dst = append(dst, strconv.Itoa(int(src.Position))...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.InternalPosition != 0 {
-		buf.WriteByte('p')
-		buf.WriteString(strconv.Itoa(int(src.InternalPosition)))
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'p')
+		dst = append(dst, strconv.Itoa(int(src.InternalPosition))...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.InternalQuery != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('q')
-		buf.WriteString(src.InternalQuery)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'q')
+		dst = append(dst, src.InternalQuery...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.Where != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('W')
-		buf.WriteString(src.Where)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'W')
+		dst = append(dst, src.Where...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.SchemaName != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('s')
-		buf.WriteString(src.SchemaName)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 's')
+		dst = append(dst, src.SchemaName...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.TableName != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('t')
-		buf.WriteString(src.TableName)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 't')
+		dst = append(dst, src.TableName...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.ColumnName != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('c')
-		buf.WriteString(src.ColumnName)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'c')
+		dst = append(dst, src.ColumnName...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.DataTypeName != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('d')
-		buf.WriteString(src.DataTypeName)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'd')
+		dst = append(dst, src.DataTypeName...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.ConstraintName != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('n')
-		buf.WriteString(src.ConstraintName)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'n')
+		dst = append(dst, src.ConstraintName...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.File != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('F')
-		buf.WriteString(src.File)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'F')
+		dst = append(dst, src.File...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.Line != 0 {
-		buf.WriteByte('L')
-		buf.WriteString(strconv.Itoa(int(src.Line)))
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'L')
+		dst = append(dst, strconv.Itoa(int(src.Line))...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 	if src.Routine != "" {
-		buf.WriteByte('R')
-		buf.WriteString(src.Routine)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, 'R')
+		dst = append(dst, src.Routine...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 
 	for k, v := range src.UnknownFields {
-		buf.WriteByte(k)
-		buf.WriteString(v)
-		buf.WriteByte(0)
+		dst = append(dst, k)
+		dst = append(dst, v...)
+		dst = append(dst, 0)
 	}
 
-	buf.WriteByte(0)
-
-	binary.BigEndian.PutUint32(buf.Bytes()[1:5], uint32(buf.Len()-1))
+	dst = append(dst, 0)
 
-	return buf.Bytes()
+	return dst
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/example/pgfortune/server.go b/pgproto3/example/pgfortune/server.go
index 14ae71f83..06a45dda0 100644
--- a/pgproto3/example/pgfortune/server.go
+++ b/pgproto3/example/pgfortune/server.go
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ func (p *PgFortuneBackend) Run() error {
 				return fmt.Errorf("error generating query response: %w", err)
 			}
 
-			buf := (&pgproto3.RowDescription{Fields: []pgproto3.FieldDescription{
+			buf := mustEncode((&pgproto3.RowDescription{Fields: []pgproto3.FieldDescription{
 				{
 					Name:                 []byte("fortune"),
 					TableOID:             0,
@@ -56,10 +56,10 @@ func (p *PgFortuneBackend) Run() error {
 					TypeModifier:         -1,
 					Format:               0,
 				},
-			}}).Encode(nil)
-			buf = (&pgproto3.DataRow{Values: [][]byte{response}}).Encode(buf)
-			buf = (&pgproto3.CommandComplete{CommandTag: []byte("SELECT 1")}).Encode(buf)
-			buf = (&pgproto3.ReadyForQuery{TxStatus: 'I'}).Encode(buf)
+			}}).Encode(nil))
+			buf = mustEncode((&pgproto3.DataRow{Values: [][]byte{response}}).Encode(buf))
+			buf = mustEncode((&pgproto3.CommandComplete{CommandTag: []byte("SELECT 1")}).Encode(buf))
+			buf = mustEncode((&pgproto3.ReadyForQuery{TxStatus: 'I'}).Encode(buf))
 			_, err = p.conn.Write(buf)
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("error writing query response: %w", err)
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ func (p *PgFortuneBackend) handleStartup() error {
 
 	switch startupMessage.(type) {
 	case *pgproto3.StartupMessage:
-		buf := (&pgproto3.AuthenticationOk{}).Encode(nil)
-		buf = (&pgproto3.ReadyForQuery{TxStatus: 'I'}).Encode(buf)
+		buf := mustEncode((&pgproto3.AuthenticationOk{}).Encode(nil))
+		buf = mustEncode((&pgproto3.ReadyForQuery{TxStatus: 'I'}).Encode(buf))
 		_, err = p.conn.Write(buf)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("error sending ready for query: %w", err)
@@ -102,3 +102,10 @@ func (p *PgFortuneBackend) handleStartup() error {
 func (p *PgFortuneBackend) Close() error {
 	return p.conn.Close()
 }
+
+func mustEncode(buf []byte, err error) []byte {
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	return buf
+}
diff --git a/pgproto3/execute.go b/pgproto3/execute.go
index a5fee7cb9..31bc714d1 100644
--- a/pgproto3/execute.go
+++ b/pgproto3/execute.go
@@ -36,19 +36,12 @@ func (dst *Execute) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Execute) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'E')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
-
+func (src *Execute) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'E')
 	dst = append(dst, src.Portal...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, src.MaxRows)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/flush.go b/pgproto3/flush.go
index 2725f6894..e5dc1fbbd 100644
--- a/pgproto3/flush.go
+++ b/pgproto3/flush.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *Flush) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Flush) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, 'H', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *Flush) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, 'H', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/frontend.go b/pgproto3/frontend.go
index 60c34ef02..b41abbe10 100644
--- a/pgproto3/frontend.go
+++ b/pgproto3/frontend.go
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ type Frontend struct {
 	// idle. Setting and unsetting tracer provides equivalent functionality to PQtrace and PQuntrace in libpq.
 	tracer *tracer
 
-	wbuf []byte
+	wbuf        []byte
+	encodeError error
 
 	// Backend message flyweights
 	authenticationOk                AuthenticationOk
@@ -64,16 +65,26 @@ func NewFrontend(r io.Reader, w io.Writer) *Frontend {
 	return &Frontend{cr: cr, w: w}
 }
 
-// Send sends a message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is not guaranteed to be written until Flush is
-// called.
+// Send sends a message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is buffered until Flush is called. Any error
+// encountered will be returned from Flush.
 //
 // Send can work with any FrontendMessage. Some commonly used message types such as Bind have specialized send methods
 // such as SendBind. These methods should be preferred when the type of message is known up front (e.g. when building an
 // extended query protocol query) as they may be faster due to knowing the type of msg rather than it being hidden
 // behind an interface.
 func (f *Frontend) Send(msg FrontendMessage) {
+	if f.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(f.wbuf)
-	f.wbuf = msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	f.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if f.tracer != nil {
 		f.tracer.traceMessage('F', int32(len(f.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
@@ -81,6 +92,12 @@ func (f *Frontend) Send(msg FrontendMessage) {
 
 // Flush writes any pending messages to the backend (i.e. the server).
 func (f *Frontend) Flush() error {
+	if err := f.encodeError; err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = nil
+		f.wbuf = f.wbuf[:0]
+		return &writeError{err: err, safeToRetry: true}
+	}
+
 	if len(f.wbuf) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -116,71 +133,141 @@ func (f *Frontend) Untrace() {
 	f.tracer = nil
 }
 
-// SendBind sends a Bind message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is not guaranteed to be written until
-// Flush is called.
+// SendBind sends a Bind message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is buffered until Flush is called. Any
+// error encountered will be returned from Flush.
 func (f *Frontend) SendBind(msg *Bind) {
+	if f.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(f.wbuf)
-	f.wbuf = msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	f.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if f.tracer != nil {
 		f.tracer.traceBind('F', int32(len(f.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
 }
 
-// SendParse sends a Parse message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is not guaranteed to be written until
-// Flush is called.
+// SendParse sends a Parse message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is buffered until Flush is called. Any
+// error encountered will be returned from Flush.
 func (f *Frontend) SendParse(msg *Parse) {
+	if f.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(f.wbuf)
-	f.wbuf = msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	f.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if f.tracer != nil {
 		f.tracer.traceParse('F', int32(len(f.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
 }
 
-// SendClose sends a Close message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is not guaranteed to be written until
-// Flush is called.
+// SendClose sends a Close message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is buffered until Flush is called. Any
+// error encountered will be returned from Flush.
 func (f *Frontend) SendClose(msg *Close) {
+	if f.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(f.wbuf)
-	f.wbuf = msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	f.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if f.tracer != nil {
 		f.tracer.traceClose('F', int32(len(f.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
 }
 
-// SendDescribe sends a Describe message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is not guaranteed to be written until
-// Flush is called.
+// SendDescribe sends a Describe message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is buffered until Flush is
+// called. Any error encountered will be returned from Flush.
 func (f *Frontend) SendDescribe(msg *Describe) {
+	if f.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(f.wbuf)
-	f.wbuf = msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	f.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if f.tracer != nil {
 		f.tracer.traceDescribe('F', int32(len(f.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
 }
 
-// SendExecute sends an Execute message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is not guaranteed to be written until
-// Flush is called.
+// SendExecute sends an Execute message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is buffered until Flush is called.
+// Any error encountered will be returned from Flush.
 func (f *Frontend) SendExecute(msg *Execute) {
+	if f.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(f.wbuf)
-	f.wbuf = msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	f.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if f.tracer != nil {
 		f.tracer.TraceQueryute('F', int32(len(f.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
 }
 
-// SendSync sends a Sync message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is not guaranteed to be written until
-// Flush is called.
+// SendSync sends a Sync message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is buffered until Flush is called. Any
+// error encountered will be returned from Flush.
 func (f *Frontend) SendSync(msg *Sync) {
+	if f.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(f.wbuf)
-	f.wbuf = msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	f.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if f.tracer != nil {
 		f.tracer.traceSync('F', int32(len(f.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
 }
 
-// SendQuery sends a Query message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is not guaranteed to be written until
-// Flush is called.
+// SendQuery sends a Query message to the backend (i.e. the server). The message is buffered until Flush is called. Any
+// error encountered will be returned from Flush.
 func (f *Frontend) SendQuery(msg *Query) {
+	if f.encodeError != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
 	prevLen := len(f.wbuf)
-	f.wbuf = msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	newBuf, err := msg.Encode(f.wbuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		f.encodeError = err
+		return
+	}
+	f.wbuf = newBuf
+
 	if f.tracer != nil {
 		f.tracer.traceQuery('F', int32(len(f.wbuf)-prevLen), msg)
 	}
diff --git a/pgproto3/function_call.go b/pgproto3/function_call.go
index 2c4f38dfd..0b15fce23 100644
--- a/pgproto3/function_call.go
+++ b/pgproto3/function_call.go
@@ -71,10 +71,8 @@ func (dst *FunctionCall) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *FunctionCall) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'F')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, 0) // Unknown length, set it at the end
+func (src *FunctionCall) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'F')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, src.Function)
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, uint16(len(src.ArgFormatCodes)))
 	for _, argFormatCode := range src.ArgFormatCodes {
@@ -90,6 +88,5 @@ func (src *FunctionCall) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 		}
 	}
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, src.ResultFormatCode)
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
diff --git a/pgproto3/function_call_response.go b/pgproto3/function_call_response.go
index 3d3606ddb..1f2734952 100644
--- a/pgproto3/function_call_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/function_call_response.go
@@ -39,10 +39,8 @@ func (dst *FunctionCallResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *FunctionCallResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'V')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *FunctionCallResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'V')
 
 	if src.Result == nil {
 		dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
@@ -51,9 +49,7 @@ func (src *FunctionCallResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 		dst = append(dst, src.Result...)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/function_call_test.go b/pgproto3/function_call_test.go
index 8c08bb240..2a70fd308 100644
--- a/pgproto3/function_call_test.go
+++ b/pgproto3/function_call_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import (
 	"encoding/binary"
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestFunctionCall_EncodeDecode(t *testing.T) {
@@ -30,7 +32,8 @@ func TestFunctionCall_EncodeDecode(t *testing.T) {
 				Arguments:        tt.fields.Arguments,
 				ResultFormatCode: tt.fields.ResultFormatCode,
 			}
-			encoded := src.Encode([]byte{})
+			encoded, err := src.Encode([]byte{})
+			require.NoError(t, err)
 			dst := &FunctionCall{}
 			// Check the header
 			msgTypeCode := encoded[0]
@@ -44,7 +47,7 @@ func TestFunctionCall_EncodeDecode(t *testing.T) {
 				t.Errorf("Incorrect message length, got = %v, wanted = %v", l, len(encoded))
 			}
 			// Check decoding works as expected
-			err := dst.Decode(encoded[5:])
+			err = dst.Decode(encoded[5:])
 			if err != nil {
 				if !tt.wantErr {
 					t.Errorf("FunctionCall.Decode() error = %v, wantErr %v", err, tt.wantErr)
diff --git a/pgproto3/gss_enc_request.go b/pgproto3/gss_enc_request.go
index 30ffc08d2..70cb20cd5 100644
--- a/pgproto3/gss_enc_request.go
+++ b/pgproto3/gss_enc_request.go
@@ -31,10 +31,10 @@ func (dst *GSSEncRequest) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *GSSEncRequest) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
+func (src *GSSEncRequest) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
 	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, 8)
 	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, gssEncReqNumber)
-	return dst
+	return dst, nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/gss_response.go b/pgproto3/gss_response.go
index 64bfbd049..10d937759 100644
--- a/pgproto3/gss_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/gss_response.go
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@ package pgproto3
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type GSSResponse struct {
@@ -18,11 +16,10 @@ func (g *GSSResponse) Decode(data []byte) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (g *GSSResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'p')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, int32(4+len(g.Data)))
+func (g *GSSResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'p')
 	dst = append(dst, g.Data...)
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/no_data.go b/pgproto3/no_data.go
index d8f85d38a..cbcaad40c 100644
--- a/pgproto3/no_data.go
+++ b/pgproto3/no_data.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *NoData) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *NoData) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, 'n', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *NoData) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, 'n', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/notice_response.go b/pgproto3/notice_response.go
index 4ac28a791..497aba6dd 100644
--- a/pgproto3/notice_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/notice_response.go
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ func (dst *NoticeResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *NoticeResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, (*ErrorResponse)(src).marshalBinary('N')...)
+func (src *NoticeResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'N')
+	dst = (*ErrorResponse)(src).appendFields(dst)
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
diff --git a/pgproto3/notification_response.go b/pgproto3/notification_response.go
index 228e0dac3..243b6bf7c 100644
--- a/pgproto3/notification_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/notification_response.go
@@ -45,20 +45,14 @@ func (dst *NotificationResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *NotificationResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'A')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
-
+func (src *NotificationResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'A')
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, src.PID)
 	dst = append(dst, src.Channel...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
 	dst = append(dst, src.Payload...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/parameter_description.go b/pgproto3/parameter_description.go
index 374d38a39..685e04b8c 100644
--- a/pgproto3/parameter_description.go
+++ b/pgproto3/parameter_description.go
@@ -39,19 +39,15 @@ func (dst *ParameterDescription) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *ParameterDescription) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 't')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *ParameterDescription) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 't')
 
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, uint16(len(src.ParameterOIDs)))
 	for _, oid := range src.ParameterOIDs {
 		dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, oid)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/parameter_status.go b/pgproto3/parameter_status.go
index a303e4536..9ee0720b5 100644
--- a/pgproto3/parameter_status.go
+++ b/pgproto3/parameter_status.go
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ package pgproto3
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type ParameterStatus struct {
@@ -37,19 +35,13 @@ func (dst *ParameterStatus) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *ParameterStatus) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'S')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
-
+func (src *ParameterStatus) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'S')
 	dst = append(dst, src.Name...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
 	dst = append(dst, src.Value...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/parse.go b/pgproto3/parse.go
index b53200dca..a59154cda 100644
--- a/pgproto3/parse.go
+++ b/pgproto3/parse.go
@@ -52,10 +52,8 @@ func (dst *Parse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Parse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'P')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *Parse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'P')
 
 	dst = append(dst, src.Name...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
@@ -67,9 +65,7 @@ func (src *Parse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 		dst = pgio.AppendUint32(dst, oid)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/parse_complete.go b/pgproto3/parse_complete.go
index 92c9498b6..cff9e27d0 100644
--- a/pgproto3/parse_complete.go
+++ b/pgproto3/parse_complete.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *ParseComplete) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *ParseComplete) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, '1', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *ParseComplete) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, '1', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/password_message.go b/pgproto3/password_message.go
index 41f98692b..d820d3275 100644
--- a/pgproto3/password_message.go
+++ b/pgproto3/password_message.go
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ package pgproto3
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type PasswordMessage struct {
@@ -32,14 +30,11 @@ func (dst *PasswordMessage) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *PasswordMessage) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'p')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, int32(4+len(src.Password)+1))
-
+func (src *PasswordMessage) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'p')
 	dst = append(dst, src.Password...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/pgproto3.go b/pgproto3/pgproto3.go
index 8df383c2c..480abfc06 100644
--- a/pgproto3/pgproto3.go
+++ b/pgproto3/pgproto3.go
@@ -4,8 +4,14 @@ import (
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
+// maxMessageBodyLen is the maximum length of a message body in bytes. See PG_LARGE_MESSAGE_LIMIT in the PostgreSQL
+// source. It is defined as (MaxAllocSize - 1). MaxAllocSize is defined as 0x3fffffff.
+const maxMessageBodyLen = (0x3fffffff - 1)
+
 // Message is the interface implemented by an object that can decode and encode
 // a particular PostgreSQL message.
 type Message interface {
@@ -14,7 +20,7 @@ type Message interface {
 	Decode(data []byte) error
 
 	// Encode appends itself to dst and returns the new buffer.
-	Encode(dst []byte) []byte
+	Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error)
 }
 
 // FrontendMessage is a message sent by the frontend (i.e. the client).
@@ -92,3 +98,23 @@ func getValueFromJSON(v map[string]string) ([]byte, error) {
 	}
 	return nil, errors.New("unknown protocol representation")
 }
+
+// beginMessage begines a new message of type t. It appends the message type and a placeholder for the message length to
+// dst. It returns the new buffer and the position of the message length placeholder.
+func beginMessage(dst []byte, t byte) ([]byte, int) {
+	dst = append(dst, t)
+	sp := len(dst)
+	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+	return dst, sp
+}
+
+// finishMessage finishes a message that was started with beginMessage. It computes the message length and writes it to
+// dst[sp]. If the message length is too large it returns an error. Otherwise it returns the final message buffer.
+func finishMessage(dst []byte, sp int) ([]byte, error) {
+	messageBodyLen := len(dst[sp:])
+	if messageBodyLen > maxMessageBodyLen {
+		return nil, errors.New("message body too large")
+	}
+	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(messageBodyLen))
+	return dst, nil
+}
diff --git a/pgproto3/pgproto3_private_test.go b/pgproto3/pgproto3_private_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..15da1eafb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pgproto3/pgproto3_private_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+package pgproto3
+
+const MaxMessageBodyLen = maxMessageBodyLen
diff --git a/pgproto3/portal_suspended.go b/pgproto3/portal_suspended.go
index 1a9e7bfb1..9e2f8cbc4 100644
--- a/pgproto3/portal_suspended.go
+++ b/pgproto3/portal_suspended.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *PortalSuspended) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *PortalSuspended) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, 's', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *PortalSuspended) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, 's', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/query.go b/pgproto3/query.go
index e963a0ece..aebdfde89 100644
--- a/pgproto3/query.go
+++ b/pgproto3/query.go
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ package pgproto3
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type Query struct {
@@ -28,14 +26,11 @@ func (dst *Query) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Query) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'Q')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, int32(4+len(src.String)+1))
-
+func (src *Query) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'Q')
 	dst = append(dst, src.String...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/query_test.go b/pgproto3/query_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9551fc14d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pgproto3/query_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+package pgproto3_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgproto3"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestQueryBiggerThanMaxMessageBodyLen(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// Maximum allowed size. 4 bytes for size and 1 byte for 0 terminated string.
+	_, err := (&pgproto3.Query{String: string(make([]byte, pgproto3.MaxMessageBodyLen-5))}).Encode(nil)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// 1 byte too big
+	_, err = (&pgproto3.Query{String: string(make([]byte, pgproto3.MaxMessageBodyLen-4))}).Encode(nil)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+}
diff --git a/pgproto3/ready_for_query.go b/pgproto3/ready_for_query.go
index 67a39be39..a56af9fb2 100644
--- a/pgproto3/ready_for_query.go
+++ b/pgproto3/ready_for_query.go
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ func (dst *ReadyForQuery) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *ReadyForQuery) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, 'Z', 0, 0, 0, 5, src.TxStatus)
+func (src *ReadyForQuery) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, 'Z', 0, 0, 0, 5, src.TxStatus), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/row_description.go b/pgproto3/row_description.go
index 6f6f06817..c68f1d466 100644
--- a/pgproto3/row_description.go
+++ b/pgproto3/row_description.go
@@ -99,10 +99,8 @@ func (dst *RowDescription) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *RowDescription) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'T')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *RowDescription) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'T')
 
 	dst = pgio.AppendUint16(dst, uint16(len(src.Fields)))
 	for _, fd := range src.Fields {
@@ -117,9 +115,7 @@ func (src *RowDescription) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 		dst = pgio.AppendInt16(dst, fd.Format)
 	}
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/sasl_initial_response.go b/pgproto3/sasl_initial_response.go
index eeda4691a..9eb1b6a4b 100644
--- a/pgproto3/sasl_initial_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/sasl_initial_response.go
@@ -39,10 +39,8 @@ func (dst *SASLInitialResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *SASLInitialResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'p')
-	sp := len(dst)
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
+func (src *SASLInitialResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'p')
 
 	dst = append(dst, []byte(src.AuthMechanism)...)
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
@@ -50,9 +48,7 @@ func (src *SASLInitialResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, int32(len(src.Data)))
 	dst = append(dst, src.Data...)
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/sasl_response.go b/pgproto3/sasl_response.go
index 54c3d96f3..1b604c254 100644
--- a/pgproto3/sasl_response.go
+++ b/pgproto3/sasl_response.go
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ package pgproto3
 import (
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"encoding/json"
-
-	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/internal/pgio"
 )
 
 type SASLResponse struct {
@@ -22,13 +20,10 @@ func (dst *SASLResponse) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *SASLResponse) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	dst = append(dst, 'p')
-	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, int32(4+len(src.Data)))
-
+func (src *SASLResponse) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	dst, sp := beginMessage(dst, 'p')
 	dst = append(dst, src.Data...)
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/ssl_request.go b/pgproto3/ssl_request.go
index 1b00c16b3..b0fc28476 100644
--- a/pgproto3/ssl_request.go
+++ b/pgproto3/ssl_request.go
@@ -31,10 +31,10 @@ func (dst *SSLRequest) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *SSLRequest) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
+func (src *SSLRequest) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
 	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, 8)
 	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, sslRequestNumber)
-	return dst
+	return dst, nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/startup_message.go b/pgproto3/startup_message.go
index 65de4a360..3af4587d8 100644
--- a/pgproto3/startup_message.go
+++ b/pgproto3/startup_message.go
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ func (dst *StartupMessage) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *StartupMessage) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
+func (src *StartupMessage) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
 	sp := len(dst)
 	dst = pgio.AppendInt32(dst, -1)
 
@@ -77,9 +77,7 @@ func (src *StartupMessage) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
 	}
 	dst = append(dst, 0)
 
-	pgio.SetInt32(dst[sp:], int32(len(dst[sp:])))
-
-	return dst
+	return finishMessage(dst, sp)
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/sync.go b/pgproto3/sync.go
index 5db8e07ac..ea4fc9594 100644
--- a/pgproto3/sync.go
+++ b/pgproto3/sync.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *Sync) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Sync) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, 'S', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *Sync) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, 'S', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.
diff --git a/pgproto3/terminate.go b/pgproto3/terminate.go
index 135191eae..35a9dc837 100644
--- a/pgproto3/terminate.go
+++ b/pgproto3/terminate.go
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func (dst *Terminate) Decode(src []byte) error {
 }
 
 // Encode encodes src into dst. dst will include the 1 byte message type identifier and the 4 byte message length.
-func (src *Terminate) Encode(dst []byte) []byte {
-	return append(dst, 'X', 0, 0, 0, 4)
+func (src *Terminate) Encode(dst []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	return append(dst, 'X', 0, 0, 0, 4), nil
 }
 
 // MarshalJSON implements encoding/json.Marshaler.