diff --git a/core/java/src/net/i2p/data/PrivateKeyFile.java b/core/java/src/net/i2p/data/PrivateKeyFile.java
index d9e52aecc04325b9427cd27df7ccc9fd11aa0c35..b5d68ee41194f8eb27bb5c7926ad461517281985 100644
--- a/core/java/src/net/i2p/data/PrivateKeyFile.java
+++ b/core/java/src/net/i2p/data/PrivateKeyFile.java
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ public class PrivateKeyFile {
     public String toString() {
         StringBuffer s = new StringBuffer(128);
         s.append("Dest: ");
-        s.append(this.dest.toBase64());
+        s.append(this.dest != null ? this.dest.toBase64() : "null");
         s.append("\nContains: ");
         s.append(this.dest);
         s.append("\nPrivate Key: ");