diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index b9f6b37..28775bf 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: .
   specs:
-    decanter (5.0.0)
+    decanter (5.1.0)
       actionpack (>= 7.1.3.2)
       activesupport
       rails (>= 7.1.3.2)
diff --git a/lib/decanter/exceptions.rb b/lib/decanter/exceptions.rb
index 1729381..441ae84 100644
--- a/lib/decanter/exceptions.rb
+++ b/lib/decanter/exceptions.rb
@@ -3,4 +3,5 @@ class Error < StandardError; end
   class UnhandledKeysError < Error; end
   class MissingRequiredInputValue < Error; end
   class ParseError < Error; end
+  class ValueFormatError < Error; end
 end
diff --git a/lib/decanter/parser/date_parser.rb b/lib/decanter/parser/date_parser.rb
index 8af7f08..1c0d8bc 100644
--- a/lib/decanter/parser/date_parser.rb
+++ b/lib/decanter/parser/date_parser.rb
@@ -1,15 +1,22 @@
 module Decanter
   module Parser
     class DateParser < ValueParser
-
       allow Date
 
       parser do |val, options|
-        next if (val.nil? || val === '')
+        raise Decanter::ParseError, 'Expects a single value' if val.is_a? Array
+        next if val.nil? || val === ''
         parse_format = options.fetch(:parse_format, '%m/%d/%Y')
-        ::Date.strptime(val, parse_format)
+        begin
+          ::Date.strptime(val, parse_format)
+        rescue Date::Error => e
+          if e.message == 'invalid date'
+            raise Decanter::ValueFormatError, 'invalid Date value for format'
+          else
+            raise Decanter::ValueFormatError, e.message
+          end
+        end
       end
     end
   end
 end
-
diff --git a/lib/decanter/parser/datetime_parser.rb b/lib/decanter/parser/datetime_parser.rb
index 08dbb99..e2399c2 100644
--- a/lib/decanter/parser/datetime_parser.rb
+++ b/lib/decanter/parser/datetime_parser.rb
@@ -1,13 +1,19 @@
 module Decanter
   module Parser
     class DateTimeParser < ValueParser
-
       allow DateTime
 
       parser do |val, options|
-        next if (val.nil? || val === '')
+        raise Decanter::ParseError, 'Expects a single value' if val.is_a? Array
+        next if val.nil? || val === ''
         parse_format = options.fetch(:parse_format, '%m/%d/%Y %I:%M:%S %p')
-        ::DateTime.strptime(val, parse_format)
+        begin
+          ::DateTime.strptime(val, parse_format)
+        rescue ArgumentError => e
+          raise Decanter::ValueFormatError, 'invalid DateTime value for format' if e.message == 'invalid date'
+
+          raise ArgumentError, e.message
+        end
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/decanter/version.rb b/lib/decanter/version.rb
index 7a560e6..e12ba21 100644
--- a/lib/decanter/version.rb
+++ b/lib/decanter/version.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 module Decanter
-  VERSION = '5.0.0'.freeze
+  VERSION = '5.1.0'.freeze
 end
diff --git a/spec/decanter/parser/date_parser_spec.rb b/spec/decanter/parser/date_parser_spec.rb
index 1b8e4cc..03af6b7 100644
--- a/spec/decanter/parser/date_parser_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/decanter/parser/date_parser_spec.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,14 @@
     context 'with an invalid date string' do
       it 'raises an Argument Error' do
         expect { parser.parse(name, '2-21-1990') }
-          .to raise_error(ArgumentError, 'invalid date')
+          .to raise_error(Decanter::ValueFormatError, 'invalid Date value for format')
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'with a invalid date string and custom format' do
+      it 'raises an Argument Error' do
+        expect { parser.parse(name, '2-21-1990', parse_format: '%d-%m-%Y') }
+          .to raise_error(Decanter::ValueFormatError, 'invalid Date value for format')
       end
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/decanter/parser/datetime_parser_spec.rb b/spec/decanter/parser/datetime_parser_spec.rb
index 087004f..4680ba4 100644
--- a/spec/decanter/parser/datetime_parser_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/decanter/parser/datetime_parser_spec.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,14 @@
     context 'with an invalid date string' do
       it 'raises an Argument Error' do
         expect { parser.parse(name, '2-21-1990') }
-          .to raise_error(ArgumentError, 'invalid date')
+          .to raise_error(Decanter::ValueFormatError, 'invalid DateTime value for format')
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'with a invalid date string and custom format' do
+      it 'raises an Argument Error' do
+        expect { parser.parse(name, '2-21-1990', parse_format: '%d-%m-%Y') }
+          .to raise_error(Decanter::ValueFormatError, 'invalid DateTime value for format')
       end
     end