diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/protocol.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/protocol.sgml
index 812c07e500f..9a5b7eeb4a8 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/protocol.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/protocol.sgml
@@ -1088,16 +1088,17 @@ SELCT 1/0;<!-- this typo is intentional -->
 
    <para>
     If the client has not issued an explicit <command>BEGIN</command>,
-    then each Sync ordinarily causes an implicit <command>COMMIT</command>
-    if the preceding step(s) succeeded, or an
-    implicit <command>ROLLBACK</command> if they failed.  However, there
-    are a few DDL commands (such as <command>CREATE DATABASE</command>)
-    that cannot be executed inside a transaction block.  If one of
-    these is executed in a pipeline, it will fail unless it is the first
-    command in the pipeline.  Furthermore, upon success it will force an
-    immediate commit to preserve database consistency.  Thus a Sync
-    immediately following one of these commands has no effect except to
-    respond with ReadyForQuery.
+    then an implicit transaction block is started and each Sync ordinarily
+    causes an implicit <command>COMMIT</command> if the preceding step(s)
+    succeeded, or an implicit <command>ROLLBACK</command> if they failed.
+    This implicit transaction block will only be detected by the server
+    when the first command ends without a sync.  There are a few DDL
+    commands (such as <command>CREATE DATABASE</command>) that cannot be
+    executed inside a transaction block. If one of these is executed in a
+    pipeline, it will fail unless it is the first command after a Sync.
+    Furthermore, upon success it will force an immediate commit to preserve
+    database consistency. Thus a Sync immediately following one of these
+    commands has no effect except to respond with ReadyForQuery.
    </para>
 
    <para>
diff --git a/src/backend/access/transam/xact.c b/src/backend/access/transam/xact.c
index ffe26e26f66..423545e6038 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/transam/xact.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/transam/xact.c
@@ -3405,16 +3405,6 @@ PreventInTransactionBlock(bool isTopLevel, const char *stmtType)
 				 errmsg("%s cannot run inside a subtransaction",
 						stmtType)));
 
-	/*
-	 * inside a pipeline that has started an implicit transaction?
-	 */
-	if (MyXactFlags & XACT_FLAGS_PIPELINING)
-		ereport(ERROR,
-				(errcode(ERRCODE_ACTIVE_SQL_TRANSACTION),
-		/* translator: %s represents an SQL statement name */
-				 errmsg("%s cannot be executed within a pipeline",
-						stmtType)));
-
 	/*
 	 * inside a function call?
 	 */
@@ -3526,9 +3516,6 @@ IsInTransactionBlock(bool isTopLevel)
 	if (IsSubTransaction())
 		return true;
 
-	if (MyXactFlags & XACT_FLAGS_PIPELINING)
-		return true;
-
 	if (!isTopLevel)
 		return true;
 
diff --git a/src/backend/tcop/postgres.c b/src/backend/tcop/postgres.c
index ec630b44916..d375d845b97 100644
--- a/src/backend/tcop/postgres.c
+++ b/src/backend/tcop/postgres.c
@@ -2656,6 +2656,17 @@ start_xact_command(void)
 
 		xact_started = true;
 	}
+	else if (MyXactFlags & XACT_FLAGS_PIPELINING)
+	{
+		/*
+		 * When the first Execute message is completed, following commands
+		 * will be done in an implicit transaction block created via
+		 * pipelining. The transaction state needs to be updated to an
+		 * implicit block if we're not already in a transaction block (like
+		 * one started by an explicit BEGIN).
+		 */
+		BeginImplicitTransactionBlock();
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * Start statement timeout if necessary.  Note that this'll intentionally
@@ -4605,6 +4616,13 @@ PostgresMain(int argc, char *argv[],
 
 			case 'S':			/* sync */
 				pq_getmsgend(&input_message);
+
+				/*
+				 * If pipelining was used, we may be in an implicit
+				 * transaction block. Close it before calling
+				 * finish_xact_command.
+				 */
+				EndImplicitTransactionBlock();
 				finish_xact_command();
 				send_ready_for_query = true;
 				break;