diff --git a/include/fmt/printf.h b/include/fmt/printf.h
index 18f8d121..6c7e328f 100644
--- a/include/fmt/printf.h
+++ b/include/fmt/printf.h
@@ -469,6 +469,8 @@ OutputIt basic_printf_context<OutputIt, Char>::format() {
 
     // Parse argument index, flags and width.
     unsigned arg_index = parse_header(it, end, specs);
+    if (arg_index == 0)
+      on_error("argument index 0 is out of range");
 
     // Parse precision.
     if (it != end && *it == '.') {
diff --git a/test/printf-test.cc b/test/printf-test.cc
index d8fbc964..f158a627 100644
--- a/test/printf-test.cc
+++ b/test/printf-test.cc
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ TEST(PrintfTest, SwitchArgIndexing) {
 
 TEST(PrintfTest, InvalidArgIndex) {
   EXPECT_THROW_MSG(test_sprintf("%0$d", 42), format_error,
-                   "argument index out of range");
+                   "argument index 0 is out of range");
   EXPECT_THROW_MSG(test_sprintf("%2$d", 42), format_error,
                    "argument index out of range");
   EXPECT_THROW_MSG(test_sprintf(format("%{}$d", INT_MAX), 42), format_error,