## Syntax
```mermaid
%%{init: {
'theme': 'base',
'flowchart': { 'padding': '7', 'nodeSpacing': '20', 'rankSpacing': '20' },
'themeVariables': {
'fontSize': '11px',
'fontFamily': 'Arial'
}
}}%%
flowchart LR
Start((START)) --> GEN_RANDOM_UUID[GEN_RANDOM_UUID]:::quoted
GEN_RANDOM_UUID --> End((END))
```
## Purpose
The `GEN_RANDOM_UUID` SQL function creates a new random UUID of version 4. It is another name for [[NEWID]] and the same function as [[UUIDV4]], under the name PostgreSQL has used since version 13.
Available from release 28.0.
See also [[UUIDV7]], [[UUID_EXTRACT_VERSION]] and [[NEWID]].
Returns: the new UUID, of data type `guid`. Each call creates a UUID of its own.
## Examples
The following example creates a new random UUID and reads its version:
```sql
select uuid_extract_version(gen_random_uuid()) version
-------
4
```