 <p>Just overcame a similar issue. JBoss 5 and 6 are much more strict with DTD validation than earlier versions, especially the 4.x series. Your <code>jboss.xml</code> file is failing DTD validation, either because element order is incorrect, or there are elements which don't validate against the DTD.</p> <p>Take a look at the order of the XML elements in <code>standardjboss.xml</code>, and you'll see how your <code>jboss.xml</code> file differs.</p>