diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index 691396045..ecf59a54c 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ Contributors:
     * Diego
     * Chris (ChrisJr404)
     * Pieter Ouwerkerk (pouwerkerk)
+    * jackwalkerlabs
 
 Creator:
 --------
diff --git a/changelog.rst b/changelog.rst
index ee5d1fcf5..5b1c1aa1c 100644
--- a/changelog.rst
+++ b/changelog.rst
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ Features:
 
 Bug fixes:
 ----------
+* [breaking change] Passwords in service files (usually
+  ``~/.pg_service.conf``) are now read as they appear, as ``libpq`` and
+  ``psql`` do. Previously, hashes, percent signs and other values had to be
+  quoted. They must not be quoted anymore.
 * Fix special commands being broken while explain mode (F5) is on. Every input
   was prefixed with ``EXPLAIN (...)`` and sent to the server as SQL, including
   backslash commands and the bare words ``exit``/``quit``, so ``\q``, ``\d``,
diff --git a/pgcli/main.py b/pgcli/main.py
index 3ff820ce2..21439b813 100644
--- a/pgcli/main.py
+++ b/pgcli/main.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from zoneinfo import ZoneInfoNotFoundError
-from configobj import ConfigObj, ParseError
+from configparser import ConfigParser
 from pgspecial.namedqueries import NamedQueries
 from .config import skip_initial_comment
 
@@ -2251,14 +2251,13 @@ def parse_service_info(service):
         return None, service_file
     with open(service_file, newline="") as f:
         skipped_lines = skip_initial_comment(f)
-        try:
-            service_file_config = ConfigObj(f)
-        except ParseError as err:
-            err.line_number += skipped_lines
-            raise err
+        # libpq treats values literally: hashes, commas, quotes and percent
+        # signs are part of the value.
+        service_file_config = ConfigParser(interpolation=None, delimiters=("=",), comment_prefixes=("#",))
+        service_file_config.read_file(itertools.chain(itertools.repeat("\n", skipped_lines), f), source=service_file)
     if service not in service_file_config:
         return None, service_file
-    service_conf = service_file_config.get(service)
+    service_conf = service_file_config[service]
     return service_conf, service_file
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_main.py b/tests/test_main.py
index f18319312..1f12506c3 100644
--- a/tests/test_main.py
+++ b/tests/test_main.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
     get_connect_timeout,
     get_editor,
     notify_callback,
+    parse_service_info,
     PGCli,
     OutputSettings,
     COLOR_CODE_REGEX,
@@ -615,6 +616,18 @@ def test_quoted_db_uri(tmpdir):
     mock_connect.assert_called_with(database="testdb[", host="baz.com", user="bar^", passwd="]foo")
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("password", ["abc#def", "#leading", "abc #def", "abc%def", "a,b", '"quoted"', "'quoted'"])
+def test_pg_service_password_is_literal(tmp_path, monkeypatch, password):
+    service_file = tmp_path / "pg_service.conf"
+    service_file.write_text(f"# comment\n[myservice]\npassword={password}\n")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PGSERVICEFILE", str(service_file))
+
+    config, filename = parse_service_info("myservice")
+
+    assert filename == str(service_file)
+    assert config["password"] == password
+
+
 def test_pg_service_file(tmpdir):
     with mock.patch.object(PGCli, "connect") as mock_connect:
         cli = PGCli(pgclirc_file=str(tmpdir.join("rcfile")))