diff --git a/htlcswitch/hop/payload.go b/htlcswitch/hop/payload.go
index 075f9c7d..2edd9aa8 100644
--- a/htlcswitch/hop/payload.go
+++ b/htlcswitch/hop/payload.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 
-	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-onion"
+	sphinx "github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-onion"
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/lnwire"
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/record"
 	"github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/tlv"
@@ -120,34 +120,32 @@ func NewPayloadFromReader(r io.Reader) (*Payload, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		// Promote any required type failures into ErrInvalidPayload.
 		if e, required := err.(tlv.ErrUnknownRequiredType); required {
-			// NOTE: Sigh. If the sender included a next hop whose
-			// value is zero, this would be considered invalid by
-			// our validation rules below. It's not totally clear
-			// whether this required failure should take precedence
-			// over the constraints applied by known types.
-			// Unfortunately this is an artifact of the layering
-			// violation in placing the even/odd rule in the parsing
-			// logic and not at a higher level of validation like
-			// the other presence/omission checks.
-			//
-			// As a result, this may need to be revisted if it is
-			// decided that the checks below overrule an unknown
-			// required type failure, in which case an
-			// IncludedViolation should be returned instead of the
-			// RequiredViolation.
+			// If the parser returned an unknown required type
+			// failure, we'll first check that the payload is
+			// properly formed according to our known set of
+			// constraints. If an error is discovered, this
+			// overrides the required type failure.
+			nextHop := lnwire.NewShortChanIDFromInt(cid)
+			err = ValidateParsedPayloadTypes(parsedTypes, nextHop)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+
+			// Otherwise the known constraints were applied
+			// successfully, report the invalid type failure
+			// returned by the parser.
 			return nil, ErrInvalidPayload{
 				Type:      tlv.Type(e),
 				Violation: RequiredViolation,
-				FinalHop:  cid == 0,
+				FinalHop:  nextHop == Exit,
 			}
 		}
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	nextHop := lnwire.NewShortChanIDFromInt(cid)
-
 	// Validate whether the sender properly included or omitted tlv records
 	// in accordance with BOLT 04.
+	nextHop := lnwire.NewShortChanIDFromInt(cid)
 	err = ValidateParsedPayloadTypes(parsedTypes, nextHop)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
diff --git a/htlcswitch/hop/payload_test.go b/htlcswitch/hop/payload_test.go
index 0e442c7f..a49cd2b1 100644
--- a/htlcswitch/hop/payload_test.go
+++ b/htlcswitch/hop/payload_test.go
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ var decodePayloadTests = []decodePayloadTest{
 	},
 	{
 		name:    "required type after omitted hop id",
-		payload: []byte{0x08, 0x00},
+		payload: []byte{0x02, 0x00, 0x04, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00},
 		expErr: hop.ErrInvalidPayload{
 			Type:      8,
 			Violation: hop.RequiredViolation,
@@ -88,8 +88,8 @@ var decodePayloadTests = []decodePayloadTest{
 	},
 	{
 		name: "required type after included hop id",
-		payload: []byte{0x06, 0x08, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
-			0x00, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00,
+		payload: []byte{0x02, 0x00, 0x04, 0x00, 0x06, 0x08, 0x01, 0x00,
+			0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00,
 		},
 		expErr: hop.ErrInvalidPayload{
 			Type:      8,
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ var decodePayloadTests = []decodePayloadTest{
 	},
 	{
 		name:    "required type zero final hop",
-		payload: []byte{0x00, 0x00},
+		payload: []byte{0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x04, 0x00},
 		expErr: hop.ErrInvalidPayload{
 			Type:      0,
 			Violation: hop.RequiredViolation,
@@ -108,19 +108,19 @@ var decodePayloadTests = []decodePayloadTest{
 	},
 	{
 		name: "required type zero final hop zero sid",
-		payload: []byte{0x00, 0x00, 0x06, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
-			0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
+		payload: []byte{0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x04, 0x00, 0x06, 0x08,
+			0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
 		},
 		expErr: hop.ErrInvalidPayload{
-			Type:      0,
-			Violation: hop.RequiredViolation,
+			Type:      6,
+			Violation: hop.IncludedViolation,
 			FinalHop:  true,
 		},
 	},
 	{
 		name: "required type zero intermediate hop",
-		payload: []byte{0x00, 0x00, 0x06, 0x08, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
-			0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
+		payload: []byte{0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x04, 0x00, 0x06, 0x08,
+			0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
 		},
 		expErr: hop.ErrInvalidPayload{
 			Type:      0,