diff --git a/derive/src/lib.rs b/derive/src/lib.rs
index b26d90a..bbbdf9d 100644
--- a/derive/src/lib.rs
+++ b/derive/src/lib.rs
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ extern crate proc_macro;
 mod traits;
 
 use proc_macro2::TokenStream;
-use quote::quote;
-use syn::{parse_macro_input, DeriveInput};
+use quote::{quote, quote_spanned};
+use syn::{parse_macro_input, DeriveInput, spanned::Spanned};
 
 use crate::traits::{
   AnyBitPattern, Contiguous, Derivable, CheckedBitPattern, NoPadding, Pod, TransparentWrapper, Zeroable,
@@ -223,8 +223,9 @@ pub fn derive_contiguous(
 
 /// Basic wrapper for error handling
 fn derive_marker_trait<Trait: Derivable>(input: DeriveInput) -> TokenStream {
+  let span = input.span();
   derive_marker_trait_inner::<Trait>(input).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
-    quote! {
+    quote_spanned! { span =>
       compile_error!(#err);
     }
   })
diff --git a/derive/src/traits.rs b/derive/src/traits.rs
index 31beeb4..38ba919 100644
--- a/derive/src/traits.rs
+++ b/derive/src/traits.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ use quote::{quote, quote_spanned, ToTokens};
 use syn::{
   spanned::Spanned, AttrStyle, Attribute, Data, DataEnum, DataStruct,
   DeriveInput, Expr, ExprLit, ExprUnary, Fields, Lit, LitInt, Type, UnOp,
-  Variant,
+  Variant, DataUnion,
 };
 
 pub trait Derivable {
@@ -38,17 +38,23 @@ impl Derivable for Pod {
 
   fn asserts(input: &DeriveInput) -> Result<TokenStream, &'static str> {
     if !input.generics.params.is_empty() {
-      return Err("Pod requires cannot be derived for structs containing generic parameters because the padding requirements can't be verified for generic structs");
+      return Err("Pod requires cannot be derived for types containing generic parameters because the padding requirements can't be verified for generic structs");
     }
 
-    let assert_no_padding = generate_assert_no_padding(input)?;
-    let assert_fields_are_pod =
-      generate_fields_are_trait(input, Self::ident())?;
+    match &input.data {
+      Data::Struct(_) => {
+        let assert_no_padding = generate_assert_no_padding(input)?;
+        let assert_fields_are_pod =
+          generate_fields_are_trait(input, Self::ident())?;
 
-    Ok(quote!(
-      #assert_no_padding
-      #assert_fields_are_pod
-    ))
+        Ok(quote!(
+          #assert_no_padding
+          #assert_fields_are_pod
+        ))
+      },
+      Data::Enum(_) => Err("Deriving Pod is not supported for enums"),
+      Data::Union(_) => Err("Deriving Pod is not supported for unions")
+    }
   }
 
   fn check_attributes(
@@ -59,7 +65,7 @@ impl Derivable for Pod {
       Some("C") => Ok(()),
       Some("transparent") => Ok(()),
       _ => {
-        Err("Pod requires the struct to be #[repr(C)] or #[repr(transparent)]")
+        Err("Pod requires the type to be #[repr(C)] or #[repr(transparent)]")
       }
     }
   }
@@ -77,7 +83,11 @@ impl Derivable for AnyBitPattern {
   }
 
   fn asserts(input: &DeriveInput) -> Result<TokenStream, &'static str> {
-    generate_fields_are_trait(input, Self::ident())
+    match &input.data {
+      Data::Union(_) => Ok(quote!()), // unions are always `AnyBitPattern`
+      Data::Struct(_) => generate_fields_are_trait(input, Self::ident()),
+      Data::Enum(_) => Err("Deriving AnyBitPattern is not supported for enums"),
+    }
   }
 }
 
@@ -89,7 +99,11 @@ impl Derivable for Zeroable {
   }
 
   fn asserts(input: &DeriveInput) -> Result<TokenStream, &'static str> {
-    generate_fields_are_trait(input, Self::ident())
+    match &input.data {
+      Data::Union(_) => Ok(quote!()), // unions are always `Zeroable`
+      Data::Struct(_) => generate_fields_are_trait(input, Self::ident()),
+      Data::Enum(_) => Err("Deriving Zeroable is not supported for enums"),
+    }
   }
 }
 
@@ -107,14 +121,14 @@ impl Derivable for NoPadding {
     match ty {
       Data::Struct(_) => match repr.as_deref() {
         Some("C" | "transparent") => Ok(()),
-        _ => Err("NoPadding requires the struct to be #[repr(C)] or #[repr(transparent)]"),
+        _ => Err("NoPadding derive requires the type to be #[repr(C)] or #[repr(transparent)]"),
       },
       Data::Enum(_) => if repr.map(|repr| repr.starts_with('u') || repr.starts_with('i')) == Some(true) {
         Ok(())
       } else {
         Err("NoPadding requires the enum to be an explicit #[repr(Int)]")
       },
-      Data::Union(_) => Err("NoPadding can only be derived on enums and structs")
+      Data::Union(_) => Err("NoPadding cannot be derived for unions")
     }
   }
 
@@ -141,7 +155,7 @@ impl Derivable for NoPadding {
           Ok(quote!())
         }
       }
-      Data::Union(_) => Err("Internal error in NoPadding derive"), // shouldn't be possible since we already error in attribute check for this case
+      Data::Union(_) => Err("NoPadding cannot be derived for unions")
     }
   }
 
@@ -215,7 +229,7 @@ impl TransparentWrapper {
   ) -> Option<TokenStream> {
     let transparent_param = get_simple_attr(attributes, "transparent");
     transparent_param.map(|ident| ident.to_token_stream()).or_else(|| {
-      let mut types = get_field_types(fields);
+      let mut types = get_field_types(&fields);
       let first_type = types.next();
       if let Some(_) = types.next() {
         // can't guess param type if there is more than one field
@@ -235,13 +249,13 @@ impl Derivable for TransparentWrapper {
   fn generic_params(input: &DeriveInput) -> Result<TokenStream, &'static str> {
     let fields = get_struct_fields(input)?;
 
-    Self::get_wrapper_type(&input.attrs, fields).map(|ty| quote!(<#ty>))
+    Self::get_wrapper_type(&input.attrs, &fields).map(|ty| quote!(<#ty>))
             .ok_or("when deriving TransparentWrapper for a struct with more than one field you need to specify the transparent field using #[transparent(T)]")
   }
 
   fn asserts(input: &DeriveInput) -> Result<TokenStream, &'static str> {
     let fields = get_struct_fields(input)?;
-    let wrapped_type = match Self::get_wrapper_type(&input.attrs, fields) {
+    let wrapped_type = match Self::get_wrapper_type(&input.attrs, &fields) {
       Some(wrapped_type) => wrapped_type.to_string(),
       None => unreachable!(), /* other code will already reject this derive */
     };
@@ -334,6 +348,14 @@ fn get_struct_fields(input: &DeriveInput) -> Result<&Fields, &'static str> {
   }
 }
 
+fn get_fields(input: &DeriveInput) -> Result<Fields, &'static str> {
+  match &input.data {
+    Data::Struct(DataStruct { fields, .. }) => Ok(fields.clone()),
+    Data::Union(DataUnion { fields, .. }) => Ok(Fields::Named(fields.clone())),
+    Data::Enum(_) => Err("deriving this trait is not supported for enums")
+  }
+}
+
 fn get_enum_variants<'a>(
   input: &'a DeriveInput,
 ) -> Result<impl Iterator<Item = &'a Variant> + 'a, &'static str> {
@@ -459,7 +481,7 @@ fn generate_assert_no_padding(
 ) -> Result<TokenStream, &'static str> {
   let struct_type = &input.ident;
   let span = input.ident.span();
-  let fields = get_struct_fields(input)?;
+  let fields = get_fields(input)?;
 
   let mut field_types = get_field_types(&fields);
   let size_sum = if let Some(first) = field_types.next() {
@@ -484,7 +506,7 @@ fn generate_fields_are_trait(
 ) -> Result<TokenStream, &'static str> {
   let (impl_generics, _ty_generics, where_clause) =
     input.generics.split_for_impl();
-  let fields = get_struct_fields(input)?;
+  let fields = get_fields(input)?;
   let span = input.span();
   let field_types = get_field_types(&fields);
   Ok(quote_spanned! {span => #(const _: fn() = || {
diff --git a/derive/tests/basic.rs b/derive/tests/basic.rs
index 17b4d51..252ce02 100644
--- a/derive/tests/basic.rs
+++ b/derive/tests/basic.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #![allow(dead_code)]
 
 use bytemuck::{
-  AnyBitPattern, Contiguous, CheckedBitPattern, NoPadding, Pod, TransparentWrapper, Zeroable,
+  Contiguous, CheckedBitPattern, NoPadding, Pod, TransparentWrapper, Zeroable, AnyBitPattern,
 };
 use std::marker::PhantomData;
 
@@ -58,6 +58,13 @@ struct NoPaddingTest {
   b: u16,
 }
 
+#[derive(Copy, Clone, AnyBitPattern)]
+#[repr(C)]
+union UnionTestAnyBitPattern {
+  a: u8,
+  b: u16,
+}
+
 #[repr(u8)]
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, NoPadding, CheckedBitPattern, PartialEq, Eq)]
 enum CheckedBitPatternEnumWithValues {