Embodiments for video encoding and video decoding are described. One example method includes performing a conversion between a video and a bitstream of the video, wherein the bitstream includes one or more pictures including one or more subpictures according to a rule, and wherein the rule specifies that, responsive to a condition, a rewriting operation is performed on referenced one or more sequence parameter sets during a subpicture sub-bitstream extraction process by which a target output sub-bitstream is extracted from the bitstream.