PHP 8.1 end of life and Laravel

PHP dates are from php.net’s supported versions page and the end-of-life list. The Laravel column is from the Laravel release notes, and our versions page has the framework dates.

If your application is on PHP 8.1 and Laravel 10, whose own security fixes ended on February 4, 2025, you have two separate gaps: the language and the framework. PHP 8.3 is the useful overlap, because Laravel 10 accepts it and so does Laravel 13.

That gives you a two-stage plan. Move to PHP 8.3 on Laravel 10 and release it. Once that has settled, upgrade the framework. If something breaks at either stage, you know which change caused it.

Your hosting may complicate the picture. Some Linux distributions backport security fixes to the PHP packages they ship, so check your vendor’s notice before assuming you are exposed. Backports don’t help with Composer packages, though, as those drop old PHP versions on their own schedule.

The changes below are mostly deprecations, so they appear as log noise first. Clearing them while you are in the code saves a harder fix at the next major PHP release.

• Dynamic properties (8.2). Setting an undeclared property on a class is deprecated unless the class uses #[\AllowDynamicProperties]. Older models, services and vendor code often do this.
• String interpolation (8.2). The "${var}" style is deprecated in favour of "{$var}".
• Encoding helpers (8.2). utf8_encode() and utf8_decode() are deprecated, which matters for old CSV imports and integrations.
• Implicitly nullable parameters (8.4). function foo(T $a = null) should become function foo(?T $a = null). A sweep now saves returning to it if you later go to 8.4.

Details are in php.net’s PHP 8.2 and PHP 8.4 deprecation lists.

1. Check that your host or server image offers PHP 8.3, including for CLI, cron and queue workers.
2. Run your test suite on 8.3 with deprecations visible. Then run composer update with PHP 8.3 as the platform, to see which packages object.
3. Check PHP extensions on the new version. A missing one fails at runtime, sometimes only on one rarely used path.
4. Release to staging, run the flows that make you money, then release to production with the old version still installed.

PHP can also be part of a wider project. We moved a cabinet manufacturer’s system from PHP 5.6 all the way to 8.5 as part of its Laravel 13 upgrade. See what that kind of work involves on our upgrade service page.