diff --git a/core/pom.xml b/core/pom.xml
index 96520a09..ac62c416 100644
--- a/core/pom.xml
+++ b/core/pom.xml
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
+         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <parent>
         <artifactId>spring-ws</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.springframework.ws</groupId>
@@ -48,10 +50,6 @@
                 </exclusion>
             </exclusions>
         </dependency>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
-            <artifactId>spring-aop</artifactId>
-        </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
             <artifactId>spring-mock</artifactId>
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractDom4jPayloadEndpoint.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractDom4jPayloadEndpoint.java
index ce6a743f..e4e32a7e 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractDom4jPayloadEndpoint.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractDom4jPayloadEndpoint.java
@@ -38,9 +38,12 @@ import org.springframework.xml.transform.TransformerObjectSupport;
 public abstract class AbstractDom4jPayloadEndpoint extends TransformerObjectSupport implements PayloadEndpoint {
 
     public final Source invoke(Source request) throws Exception {
-        DocumentResult dom4jResult = new DocumentResult();
-        transform(request, dom4jResult);
-        Element requestElement = dom4jResult.getDocument().getRootElement();
+        Element requestElement = null;
+        if (request != null) {
+            DocumentResult dom4jResult = new DocumentResult();
+            transform(request, dom4jResult);
+            requestElement = dom4jResult.getDocument().getRootElement();
+        }
         Document responseDocument = DocumentHelper.createDocument();
         Element responseElement = invokeInternal(requestElement, responseDocument);
         return responseElement != null ? new DocumentSource(responseElement) : null;
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractDomPayloadEndpoint.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractDomPayloadEndpoint.java
index 3b4d996b..f43a63f1 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractDomPayloadEndpoint.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractDomPayloadEndpoint.java
@@ -63,10 +63,13 @@ public abstract class AbstractDomPayloadEndpoint extends TransformerObjectSuppor
             documentBuilderFactory = createDocumentBuilderFactory();
         }
         DocumentBuilder documentBuilder = createDocumentBuilder(documentBuilderFactory);
-        Document requestDocument = documentBuilder.newDocument();
-        DOMResult domResult = new DOMResult(requestDocument);
-        transform(request, domResult);
-        Element requestElement = (Element) requestDocument.getFirstChild();
+        Element requestElement = null;
+        if (request != null) {
+            Document requestDocument = documentBuilder.newDocument();
+            DOMResult domResult = new DOMResult(requestDocument);
+            transform(request, domResult);
+            requestElement = (Element) requestDocument.getFirstChild();
+        }
         Document responseDocument = documentBuilder.newDocument();
         Element responseElement = invokeInternal(requestElement, responseDocument);
         if (responseElement != null) {
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractJDomPayloadEndpoint.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractJDomPayloadEndpoint.java
index 5c63582f..55cc69b6 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractJDomPayloadEndpoint.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractJDomPayloadEndpoint.java
@@ -37,9 +37,12 @@ import org.springframework.xml.transform.TransformerObjectSupport;
 public abstract class AbstractJDomPayloadEndpoint extends TransformerObjectSupport implements PayloadEndpoint {
 
     public final Source invoke(Source request) throws Exception {
-        JDOMResult jdomResult = new JDOMResult();
-        transform(request, jdomResult);
-        Element requestElement = jdomResult.getDocument().getRootElement();
+        Element requestElement = null;
+        if (request != null) {
+            JDOMResult jdomResult = new JDOMResult();
+            transform(request, jdomResult);
+            requestElement = jdomResult.getDocument().getRootElement();
+        }
         Element responseElement = invokeInternal(requestElement);
         return responseElement != null ? new JDOMSource(responseElement) : null;
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractSaxPayloadEndpoint.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractSaxPayloadEndpoint.java
index 500bff1c..2407fe62 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractSaxPayloadEndpoint.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractSaxPayloadEndpoint.java
@@ -37,31 +37,39 @@ import org.xml.sax.ContentHandler;
 public abstract class AbstractSaxPayloadEndpoint extends TransformerObjectSupport implements PayloadEndpoint {
 
     /**
-     * Invokes the provided <code>ContentHandler</code> and <code>LexicalHandler</code> on the given request. After
-     * parsing has been done, the provided response is returned.
+     * Invokes the provided <code>ContentHandler</code> on the given request. After parsing has been done, the provided
+     * response is returned.
      *
      * @see #createContentHandler()
      * @see #getResponse(org.xml.sax.ContentHandler)
      */
     public final Source invoke(Source request) throws Exception {
-        ContentHandler contentHandler = createContentHandler();
-        SAXResult result = new SAXResult(contentHandler);
-        transform(request, result);
+        ContentHandler contentHandler = null;
+        if (request != null) {
+            contentHandler = createContentHandler();
+            SAXResult result = new SAXResult(contentHandler);
+            transform(request, result);
+        }
         return getResponse(contentHandler);
     }
 
     /**
      * Returns the SAX <code>ContentHandler</code> used to parse the incoming request payload. A new instance should be
      * created for each call, because of thread-safety. The content handler can be used to hold request-specific state.
+     * <p/>
+     * If an incoming message does not contain a payload, this method will not be invoked.
      *
      * @return a SAX content handler to be used for parsing
      */
     protected abstract ContentHandler createContentHandler() throws Exception;
 
     /**
-     * Returns the response to be given, if any. This method is called after the request payload has been parse using
-     * the SAX <code>ContentHandler</code>. The passed <code>ContentHandler</code> is created by
-     * <code>createContentHandler</code>: it can be used to hold request-specific state.
+     * Returns the response to be given, if any. This method is called after the request payload has been parsed using
+     * the SAX <code>ContentHandler</code>. The passed <code>ContentHandler</code> is created by {@link
+     * #createContentHandler()}: it can be used to hold request-specific state.
+     * <p/>
+     * If an incoming message does not contain a payload, this method will be invoked with <code>null</code> as content
+     * handler.
      *
      * @param contentHandler the content handler used to parse the request
      */
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractXomPayloadEndpoint.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractXomPayloadEndpoint.java
index 549efaf4..a0d194ee 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractXomPayloadEndpoint.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractXomPayloadEndpoint.java
@@ -112,10 +112,12 @@ public abstract class AbstractXomPayloadEndpoint extends TransformerObjectSuppor
 
     private Source invokeUsingReflection(Source request) throws Exception {
         try {
-            Result xomResult = createXomResult();
-            transform(request, xomResult);
-            Element requestElement = getRequestElement(xomResult);
-
+            Element requestElement = null;
+            if (request != null) {
+                Result xomResult = createXomResult();
+                transform(request, xomResult);
+                requestElement = getRequestElement(xomResult);
+            }
             Element responseElement = invokeInternal(requestElement);
             return responseElement != null ? createXomSource(responseElement) : null;
         }
@@ -134,20 +136,21 @@ public abstract class AbstractXomPayloadEndpoint extends TransformerObjectSuppor
     }
 
     private Source invokeUsingTransformation(Source request) throws Exception {
-        logger.debug("Using transformations");
         Element requestElement = null;
-        if (request instanceof DOMSource) {
-            requestElement = handleDomSource(request);
-        }
-        else if (request instanceof SAXSource) {
-            requestElement = handleSaxSource(request);
-        }
-        else if (request instanceof StreamSource) {
-            requestElement = handleStreamSource(request);
-        }
-        else {
-            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
-                    "Source [" + request.getClass().getName() + "] is neither SAXSource, DOMSource, nor StreamSource");
+        if (request != null) {
+            if (request instanceof DOMSource) {
+                requestElement = handleDomSource(request);
+            }
+            else if (request instanceof SAXSource) {
+                requestElement = handleSaxSource(request);
+            }
+            else if (request instanceof StreamSource) {
+                requestElement = handleStreamSource(request);
+            }
+            else {
+                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Source [" + request.getClass().getName() +
+                        "] is neither SAXSource, DOMSource, nor StreamSource");
+            }
         }
         Element responseElement = invokeInternal(requestElement);
         if (responseElement != null) {
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/PayloadEndpoint.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/PayloadEndpoint.java
index c3c7ae67..782d2f5b 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/PayloadEndpoint.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/PayloadEndpoint.java
@@ -20,18 +20,18 @@ import javax.xml.transform.Source;
 
 /**
  * Defines the basic contract for Web Services interested in just the message payload.
- *
- * <p>The main entrypoint is {@link #invoke(Source)}, which gets invoked with the contents of the requesting message.
+ * <p/>
+ * The main entrypoint is {@link #invoke(Source)}, which gets invoked with the contents of the requesting message.
  *
  * @author Arjen Poutsma
  */
 public interface PayloadEndpoint {
 
     /**
-     * Invokes an operation.
+     * Invokes the endpoint with the given request payload, and possibly returns a response.
      *
-     * @param request the request message
-     * @return the response message, may be <code>null</code>
+     * @param request the payload of the request message, may be <code>null</code>
+     * @return the payload of the response message, may be <code>null</code> to indicate no response
      * @throws Exception if an exception occurs
      */
     Source invoke(Source request) throws Exception;
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase.java b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase.java
index f59a0126..818da926 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase.java
@@ -41,6 +41,12 @@ public abstract class AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase extends AbstractEndpointTe
         assertNull("Response source returned", resultSource);
     }
 
+    public void testNoRequest() throws Exception {
+        endpoint = createNoRequestEndpoint();
+        Source resultSource = endpoint.invoke(null);
+        assertNull("Response source returned", resultSource);
+    }
+
     protected final void testSource(Source requestSource) throws Exception {
         Source responseSource = endpoint.invoke(requestSource);
         assertNotNull("No response source returned", responseSource);
@@ -52,4 +58,6 @@ public abstract class AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase extends AbstractEndpointTe
     protected abstract PayloadEndpoint createNoResponseEndpoint() throws Exception;
 
     protected abstract PayloadEndpoint createResponseEndpoint() throws Exception;
+
+    protected abstract PayloadEndpoint createNoRequestEndpoint() throws Exception;
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/Dom4jPayloadEndpointTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/Dom4jPayloadEndpointTest.java
index 82cd71db..0a5581cb 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/Dom4jPayloadEndpointTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/Dom4jPayloadEndpointTest.java
@@ -43,5 +43,15 @@ public class Dom4jPayloadEndpointTest extends AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase {
         };
     }
 
+    protected PayloadEndpoint createNoRequestEndpoint() throws Exception {
+        return new AbstractDom4jPayloadEndpoint() {
+
+            protected Element invokeInternal(Element requestElement, Document responseDocument) throws Exception {
+                assertNull("RequestElement passed", requestElement);
+                return null;
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
 
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/DomPayloadEndpointTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/DomPayloadEndpointTest.java
index cbf9257f..47ea5fcb 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/DomPayloadEndpointTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/DomPayloadEndpointTest.java
@@ -43,5 +43,13 @@ public class DomPayloadEndpointTest extends AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase {
         };
     }
 
+    protected PayloadEndpoint createNoRequestEndpoint() throws Exception {
+        return new AbstractDomPayloadEndpoint() {
 
+            protected Element invokeInternal(Element requestElement, Document responseDocument) throws Exception {
+                assertNull("RequestElement passed", requestElement);
+                return null;
+            }
+        };
+    }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/JDomPayloadEndpointTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/JDomPayloadEndpointTest.java
index 535e295c..6ca61960 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/JDomPayloadEndpointTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/JDomPayloadEndpointTest.java
@@ -41,4 +41,14 @@ public class JDomPayloadEndpointTest extends AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase {
             }
         };
     }
+
+    protected PayloadEndpoint createNoRequestEndpoint() throws Exception {
+        return new AbstractJDomPayloadEndpoint() {
+
+            protected Element invokeInternal(Element requestElement) throws Exception {
+                assertNull("RequestElement passed", requestElement);
+                return null;
+            }
+        };
+    }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/NonReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/NonReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest.java
index 700954a2..ca80ed54 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/NonReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/NonReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest.java
@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@ public class NonReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest extends AbstractPayloadEndpoint
         };
     }
 
+    protected PayloadEndpoint createNoRequestEndpoint() throws Exception {
+        return new AbstractXomPayloadEndpoint(false) {
+
+            protected Element invokeInternal(Element requestElement) throws Exception {
+                assertNull("RequestElement passed", requestElement);
+                return null;
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
     public void testStaxSourceEventReader() throws Exception {
         // overriden, because XOM doesn not support it
     }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/ReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/ReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest.java
index ea6b6d9e..b4185893 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/ReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/ReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest.java
@@ -41,5 +41,13 @@ public class ReflectiveXomPayloadEndpointTest extends AbstractPayloadEndpointTes
         };
     }
 
+    protected PayloadEndpoint createNoRequestEndpoint() throws Exception {
+        return new AbstractXomPayloadEndpoint(true) {
 
+            protected Element invokeInternal(Element requestElement) throws Exception {
+                assertNull("RequestElement passed", requestElement);
+                return null;
+            }
+        };
+    }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/SaxPayloadEndpointTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/SaxPayloadEndpointTest.java
index 79b55af3..86e32478 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/SaxPayloadEndpointTest.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/springframework/ws/server/endpoint/SaxPayloadEndpointTest.java
@@ -52,6 +52,20 @@ public class SaxPayloadEndpointTest extends AbstractPayloadEndpointTestCase {
         };
     }
 
+    protected PayloadEndpoint createNoRequestEndpoint() throws Exception {
+        return new AbstractSaxPayloadEndpoint() {
+
+            protected ContentHandler createContentHandler() throws Exception {
+                fail("Not expected");
+                return null;
+            }
+
+            protected Source getResponse(ContentHandler contentHandler) throws Exception {
+                return null;
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
     private static class TestContentHandler extends DefaultHandler {
 
         public void endElement(String uri, String localName, String qName) throws SAXException {