diff --git a/level.go b/level.go
index ae07909..d62949d 100644
--- a/level.go
+++ b/level.go
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 package log
 
-import "strings"
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+)
 
 // Level is a logging level.
 type Level int32
@@ -38,20 +42,23 @@ func (l Level) String() string {
 	}
 }
 
+// ErrInvalidLevel is an error returned when parsing an invalid level string.
+var ErrInvalidLevel = errors.New("invalid level")
+
 // ParseLevel converts level in string to Level type. Default level is InfoLevel.
-func ParseLevel(level string) Level {
+func ParseLevel(level string) (Level, error) {
 	switch strings.ToLower(level) {
 	case DebugLevel.String():
-		return DebugLevel
+		return DebugLevel, nil
 	case InfoLevel.String():
-		return InfoLevel
+		return InfoLevel, nil
 	case WarnLevel.String():
-		return WarnLevel
+		return WarnLevel, nil
 	case ErrorLevel.String():
-		return ErrorLevel
+		return ErrorLevel, nil
 	case FatalLevel.String():
-		return FatalLevel
+		return FatalLevel, nil
 	default:
-		return InfoLevel
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("%w: %q", ErrInvalidLevel, level)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/level_test.go b/level_test.go
index 95d7bb5..5669e0e 100644
--- a/level_test.go
+++ b/level_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package log
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -10,52 +11,63 @@ func TestDefaultLevel(t *testing.T) {
 	var level Level
 	assert.Equal(t, InfoLevel, level)
 }
+
 func TestParseLevel(t *testing.T) {
 	testCases := []struct {
 		name     string
-		level    string
-		expLevel Level
+		input    string
+		expected Level
+		error    error
 	}{
 		{
 			name:     "Parse debug",
-			level:    "debug",
-			expLevel: DebugLevel,
+			input:    "debug",
+			expected: DebugLevel,
+			error:    nil,
 		},
 		{
 			name:     "Parse info",
-			level:    "Info",
-			expLevel: InfoLevel,
+			input:    "Info",
+			expected: InfoLevel,
+			error:    nil,
 		},
 		{
 			name:     "Parse warn",
-			level:    "WARN",
-			expLevel: WarnLevel,
+			input:    "WARN",
+			expected: WarnLevel,
+			error:    nil,
 		},
 		{
 			name:     "Parse error",
-			level:    "error",
-			expLevel: ErrorLevel,
+			input:    "error",
+			expected: ErrorLevel,
+			error:    nil,
 		},
 		{
 			name:     "Parse fatal",
-			level:    "FATAL",
-			expLevel: FatalLevel,
+			input:    "FATAL",
+			expected: FatalLevel,
+			error:    nil,
 		},
 		{
 			name:     "Default",
-			level:    "",
-			expLevel: InfoLevel,
+			input:    "",
+			expected: InfoLevel,
+			error:    fmt.Errorf("%w: %q", ErrInvalidLevel, ""),
 		},
 		{
 			name:     "Wrong level, set INFO",
-			level:    "WRONG_LEVEL",
-			expLevel: InfoLevel,
+			input:    "WRONG_LEVEL",
+			expected: InfoLevel,
+			error:    fmt.Errorf("%w: %q", ErrInvalidLevel, "WRONG_LEVEL"),
 		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			assert.Equal(t, tc.expLevel, ParseLevel(tc.level))
+			lvl, err := ParseLevel(tc.input)
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.expected, lvl)
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.error, err)
 		})
 	}
 }