Can overridden methods differ in return type?

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Java supports* covariant return types for overridden methods. This means an overridden method may have a more specific return type. That is, as long as the new return type is assignable to the return type of the method you are overriding, it’s allowed.

For example:

class ShapeBuilder {
    ...
    public Shape build() {
    ....
}

class CircleBuilder extends ShapeBuilder{
    ...
    @Override
    public Circle build() {
    ....
}

This is specified in section 8.4.5 of the Java Language Specification:

Return types may vary among methods that override each other if the return types are reference types. The notion of return-type-substitutability supports covariant returns, that is, the specialization of the return type to a subtype.

A method declaration d1 with return type R1 is return-type-substitutable for another method d2 with return type R2, if and only if the following conditions hold:

  • If R1 is void then R2 is void.

  • If R1 is a primitive type, then R2 is identical to R1.

  • If R1 is a reference type then:

    • R1 is either a subtype of R2 or R1 can be converted to a subtype of R2 by unchecked conversion (§5.1.9), or

    • R1 = |R2|

(“|R2|” refers to the erasure of R2, as defined in §4.6 of the JLS.)

* Prior to Java 5, Java had invariant return types, which meant the return type of a method override needed to exactly match the method being overridden.

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