diff --git a/ksql-common/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/util/ReservedInternalTopics.java b/ksql-common/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/util/ReservedInternalTopics.java
index 59c19da5a8bf..8c754b536ffb 100644
--- a/ksql-common/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/util/ReservedInternalTopics.java
+++ b/ksql-common/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/util/ReservedInternalTopics.java
@@ -15,12 +15,18 @@
 
 package io.confluent.ksql.util;
 
+import io.confluent.ksql.logging.processing.ProcessingLogConfig;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 
 public final class ReservedInternalTopics {
+  private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(ReservedInternalTopics.class);
+
   // These constant should not be part of KsqlConfig.SYSTEM_INTERNAL_TOPICS_CONFIG because they're
   // not configurable.
   public static final String KSQL_INTERNAL_TOPIC_PREFIX = "_confluent-ksql-";
@@ -47,6 +53,34 @@ public static String configsTopic(final KsqlConfig ksqlConfig) {
     return toKsqlInternalTopic(ksqlConfig, KSQL_CONFIGS_TOPIC_SUFFIX);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Returns the KSQL processing log topic.
+   * <p/>
+   * This is not an internal topic in the sense that users are intentionally meant to read from
+   * this topic to identify deserialization and other processing errors, define a KSQL stream on
+   * it, and potentially issue queries to filter from it, etc. This is why it is not prefixed in
+   * the way KSQL internal topics are.
+   *
+   * @param config The Processing log config, which is used to extract the processing topic suffix
+   * @param ksqlConfig The KSQL config, which is used to extract the KSQL service id.
+   * @return The processing log topic name.
+   */
+  public static String processingLogTopic(
+      final ProcessingLogConfig config,
+      final KsqlConfig ksqlConfig
+  ) {
+    final String topicNameConfig = config.getString(ProcessingLogConfig.TOPIC_NAME);
+    if (topicNameConfig.equals(ProcessingLogConfig.TOPIC_NAME_NOT_SET)) {
+      return String.format(
+          "%s%s",
+          ksqlConfig.getString(KsqlConfig.KSQL_SERVICE_ID_CONFIG),
+          ProcessingLogConfig.TOPIC_NAME_DEFAULT_SUFFIX
+      );
+    } else {
+      return topicNameConfig;
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Compute a name for a KSQL internal topic.
    *
@@ -54,7 +88,7 @@ public static String configsTopic(final KsqlConfig ksqlConfig) {
    * @param topicSuffix A suffix that is appended to the topic name.
    * @return The computed topic name.
    */
-  public static String toKsqlInternalTopic(final KsqlConfig ksqlConfig, final String topicSuffix) {
+  private static String toKsqlInternalTopic(final KsqlConfig ksqlConfig, final String topicSuffix) {
     return String.format(
         "%s%s_%s",
         KSQL_INTERNAL_TOPIC_PREFIX,
@@ -66,10 +100,18 @@ public static String toKsqlInternalTopic(final KsqlConfig ksqlConfig, final Stri
   private final List<Pattern> systemInternalTopics;
 
   public ReservedInternalTopics(final KsqlConfig ksqlConfig) {
-    this.systemInternalTopics = ksqlConfig.getList(KsqlConfig.SYSTEM_INTERNAL_TOPICS_CONFIG)
-        .stream()
-        .map(Pattern::compile)
-        .collect(Collectors.toList());
+    try {
+      this.systemInternalTopics = ksqlConfig.getList(KsqlConfig.SYSTEM_INTERNAL_TOPICS_CONFIG)
+          .stream()
+          .map(Pattern::compile)
+          .collect(Collectors.toList());
+    } catch (final Exception e) {
+      final String message = "Cannot get a list of system internal topics due to an invalid " +
+          "configuration in '" + KsqlConfig.SYSTEM_INTERNAL_TOPICS_CONFIG + "'";
+
+      LOG.error(message + ": " + e.getMessage());
+      throw new KsqlException(message, e);
+    }
   }
 
   public Set<String> filterInternalTopics(final Set<String> topicNames) {
diff --git a/ksql-common/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/util/ReservedInternalTopicsTest.java b/ksql-common/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/util/ReservedInternalTopicsTest.java
index 44da540e2b0b..0046a2550bf4 100644
--- a/ksql-common/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/util/ReservedInternalTopicsTest.java
+++ b/ksql-common/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/util/ReservedInternalTopicsTest.java
@@ -20,22 +20,31 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.regex.PatternSyntaxException;
 
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
 import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Rule;
 import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.rules.ExpectedException;
 
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertThat;
 
 public class ReservedInternalTopicsTest {
+  @Rule
+  public final ExpectedException expectedException = ExpectedException.none();
+
   private ReservedInternalTopics internalTopics;
+  private KsqlConfig ksqlConfig;
 
   @Before
   public void setUp() {
-    internalTopics = new ReservedInternalTopics(new KsqlConfig(ImmutableMap.of(
+    ksqlConfig = new KsqlConfig(ImmutableMap.of(
         KsqlConfig.SYSTEM_INTERNAL_TOPICS_CONFIG, "prefix_.*,literal,.*_suffix"
-    )));
+    ));
+
+    internalTopics = new ReservedInternalTopics(ksqlConfig);
   }
 
 
@@ -100,4 +109,38 @@ public void shouldFilterAllInternalTopics() {
     // Then
     assertThat(filteredTopics, is(ImmutableSet.of("tt", "name1", "suffix")));
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldThrowWhenInvalidSystemTopicsListIsUsed() {
+    // Given
+    final KsqlConfig givenConfig = new KsqlConfig(ImmutableMap.of(
+        KsqlConfig.SYSTEM_INTERNAL_TOPICS_CONFIG, "*_suffix"
+    ));
+
+    // Then
+    expectedException.expect(KsqlException.class);
+    expectedException.expectMessage("Cannot get a list of system internal topics due to" +
+        " an invalid configuration in '" + KsqlConfig.SYSTEM_INTERNAL_TOPICS_CONFIG + "'");
+
+    // When
+    new ReservedInternalTopics(givenConfig);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldReturnCommandTopic() {
+    // Given/When
+    final String commandTopic = ReservedInternalTopics.commandTopic(ksqlConfig);
+
+    // Then
+    assertThat("_confluent-ksql-default__command_topic", is(commandTopic));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldReturnConfigsTopic() {
+    // Given/When
+    final String commandTopic = ReservedInternalTopics.configsTopic(ksqlConfig);
+
+    // Then
+    assertThat("_confluent-ksql-default__configs", is(commandTopic));
+  }
 }
diff --git a/ksql-engine/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/engine/InsertValuesExecutor.java b/ksql-engine/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/engine/InsertValuesExecutor.java
index fd0fd98d3b4a..63dbc30dd233 100644
--- a/ksql-engine/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/engine/InsertValuesExecutor.java
+++ b/ksql-engine/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/engine/InsertValuesExecutor.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 import io.confluent.ksql.execution.expression.tree.VisitParentExpressionVisitor;
 import io.confluent.ksql.function.FunctionRegistry;
 import io.confluent.ksql.logging.processing.NoopProcessingLogContext;
+import io.confluent.ksql.logging.processing.ProcessingLogConfig;
 import io.confluent.ksql.metastore.MetaStore;
 import io.confluent.ksql.metastore.model.DataSource;
 import io.confluent.ksql.metastore.model.DataSource.DataSourceType;
@@ -194,6 +195,15 @@ private DataSource<?> getDataSource(
           + dataSource.getKafkaTopicName());
     }
 
+    final ProcessingLogConfig processingLogConfig =
+        new ProcessingLogConfig(ksqlConfig.getAllConfigPropsWithSecretsObfuscated());
+    final String processingLogTopic =
+        ReservedInternalTopics.processingLogTopic(processingLogConfig, ksqlConfig);
+    if (dataSource.getKafkaTopicName().equals(processingLogTopic)) {
+      throw new KsqlException("Cannot insert into the processing log topic: "
+          + dataSource.getKafkaTopicName());
+    }
+
     return dataSource;
   }
 
diff --git a/ksql-engine/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/engine/InsertValuesExecutorTest.java b/ksql-engine/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/engine/InsertValuesExecutorTest.java
index ac11c9ec898a..3788b01c38f9 100644
--- a/ksql-engine/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/engine/InsertValuesExecutorTest.java
+++ b/ksql-engine/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/engine/InsertValuesExecutorTest.java
@@ -565,6 +565,36 @@ public void shouldThrowWhenInsertValuesOnReservedInternalTopic() {
     executor.execute(statement, ImmutableMap.of(), engine, serviceContext);
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void shouldThrowWhenInsertValuesOnProcessingLogTopic() {
+    // Given
+    givenDataSourceWithSchema("default_ksql_processing_log", SCHEMA,
+        SerdeOption.none(), Optional.of(COL0), false);
+
+    final ConfiguredStatement<InsertValues> statement = ConfiguredStatement.of(
+        PreparedStatement.of(
+            "",
+            new InsertValues(SourceName.of("TOPIC"),
+                allFieldNames(SCHEMA),
+                ImmutableList.of(
+                    new LongLiteral(1L),
+                    new StringLiteral("str"),
+                    new StringLiteral("str"),
+                    new LongLiteral(2L)
+                ))),
+        ImmutableMap.of(),
+        new KsqlConfig(ImmutableMap.of())
+    );
+
+    // Expect:
+    expectedException.expect(KsqlException.class);
+    expectedException.expectMessage(
+        "Cannot insert into the processing log topic: default_ksql_processing_log");
+
+    // When:
+    executor.execute(statement, ImmutableMap.of(), engine, serviceContext);
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void shouldThrowOnProducerSendError() throws ExecutionException, InterruptedException {
     // Given:
diff --git a/ksql-rest-app/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/server/computation/DistributingExecutor.java b/ksql-rest-app/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/server/computation/DistributingExecutor.java
index 217570d6e873..06022043f8b1 100644
--- a/ksql-rest-app/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/server/computation/DistributingExecutor.java
+++ b/ksql-rest-app/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/server/computation/DistributingExecutor.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package io.confluent.ksql.rest.server.computation;
 
 import io.confluent.ksql.KsqlExecutionContext;
+import io.confluent.ksql.logging.processing.ProcessingLogConfig;
 import io.confluent.ksql.metastore.MetaStore;
 import io.confluent.ksql.metastore.model.DataSource;
 import io.confluent.ksql.parser.tree.InsertInto;
@@ -189,5 +190,14 @@ private void throwIfInsertOnInternalTopic(
       throw new KsqlException("Cannot insert into the reserved internal topic: "
           + dataSource.getKafkaTopicName());
     }
+
+    final ProcessingLogConfig processingLogConfig =
+        new ProcessingLogConfig(ksqlConfig.getAllConfigPropsWithSecretsObfuscated());
+    final String processingLogTopic =
+        ReservedInternalTopics.processingLogTopic(processingLogConfig, ksqlConfig);
+    if (dataSource.getKafkaTopicName().equals(processingLogTopic)) {
+      throw new KsqlException("Cannot insert into the processing log topic: "
+          + dataSource.getKafkaTopicName());
+    }
   }
 }
diff --git a/ksql-rest-app/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/util/ProcessingLogServerUtils.java b/ksql-rest-app/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/util/ProcessingLogServerUtils.java
index 44d4d541091f..c7cb98b73594 100644
--- a/ksql-rest-app/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/util/ProcessingLogServerUtils.java
+++ b/ksql-rest-app/src/main/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/util/ProcessingLogServerUtils.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import io.confluent.ksql.services.KafkaTopicClient;
 import io.confluent.ksql.util.IdentifierUtil;
 import io.confluent.ksql.util.KsqlConfig;
+import io.confluent.ksql.util.ReservedInternalTopics;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import org.apache.kafka.connect.data.Schema;
 import org.apache.kafka.connect.data.SchemaAndValue;
@@ -50,16 +51,7 @@ static Schema getMessageSchema() {
   public static String getTopicName(
       final ProcessingLogConfig config,
       final KsqlConfig ksqlConfig) {
-    final String topicNameConfig = config.getString(ProcessingLogConfig.TOPIC_NAME);
-    if (topicNameConfig.equals(ProcessingLogConfig.TOPIC_NAME_NOT_SET)) {
-      return String.format(
-          "%s%s",
-          ksqlConfig.getString(KsqlConfig.KSQL_SERVICE_ID_CONFIG),
-          ProcessingLogConfig.TOPIC_NAME_DEFAULT_SUFFIX
-      );
-    } else {
-      return topicNameConfig;
-    }
+    return ReservedInternalTopics.processingLogTopic(config, ksqlConfig);
   }
 
   public static Optional<String> maybeCreateProcessingLogTopic(
diff --git a/ksql-rest-app/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/server/computation/DistributingExecutorTest.java b/ksql-rest-app/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/server/computation/DistributingExecutorTest.java
index 5bc57b9dbad5..206e548f9f26 100644
--- a/ksql-rest-app/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/server/computation/DistributingExecutorTest.java
+++ b/ksql-rest-app/src/test/java/io/confluent/ksql/rest/server/computation/DistributingExecutorTest.java
@@ -325,4 +325,24 @@ public void shouldThrowExceptionWhenInsertIntoReservedInternalTopic() {
     // When:
     distributor.execute(configured, executionContext, mock(KsqlSecurityContext.class));
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldThrowExceptionWhenInsertIntoProcessingLogTopic() {
+    // Given
+    final PreparedStatement<Statement> preparedStatement =
+        PreparedStatement.of("", new InsertInto(SourceName.of("s1"), mock(Query.class)));
+    final ConfiguredStatement<Statement> configured =
+        ConfiguredStatement.of(preparedStatement, ImmutableMap.of(), KSQL_CONFIG);
+    final DataSource<?> dataSource = mock(DataSource.class);
+    doReturn(dataSource).when(metaStore).getSource(SourceName.of("s1"));
+    when(dataSource.getKafkaTopicName()).thenReturn("default_ksql_processing_log");
+
+    // Expect:
+    expectedException.expect(KsqlException.class);
+    expectedException.expectMessage("Cannot insert into the processing log topic: "
+        + "default_ksql_processing_log");
+
+    // When:
+    distributor.execute(configured, executionContext, mock(KsqlSecurityContext.class));
+  }
 }