I think you should use @Length(min=1) instead. Empty fields give zero length strings rather than null strings. View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=3994920#3994920 Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&p=3994920