Thanks for the tips. I only had the validate tag on one field to make it the post simpler. It turns out my problem was that I was using the s:button instead of the h:commandbutton to save the data. I beleive The s:button isn't really a button, but an s:link. I think the validation did not work because the form was not being submitted. Is this right? Once I switched to the h:commandButton everything started working. This is about the third time I have been burned by the s:button. I cannot figure out what you have to gain by using the s:button instead of the h:commandButton. From now on, I am only going to use the h:commandButton. The tag s:button is confusing because you always think it is going to act like the h:commandButton when in fact it does not. View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4119698#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...