Hello, I forgot to write about the environment :) So, I'm using AS 4.0.5 with ejb3 rc9 patch1. The exception happens when the .ejb3 contains a @Service annotated class. The start() method compeltes successfully, then the exception is thrown and the service is stopped (the stop() method is called and also completes successfully). -- Cheers, Adam View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4001736#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...