diff --git a/sys/rpc/svc.c b/sys/rpc/svc.c
index bc82cd47389..71f9d0a603d 100644
--- a/sys/rpc/svc.c
+++ b/sys/rpc/svc.c
@@ -1178,9 +1178,9 @@ svc_run_internal(SVCPOOL *pool, bool_t ismaster)
 			 */
 			xprt->xp_lastactive = time_uptime;
 			do {
-				mtx_unlock(&pool->sp_lock);
 				if (!svc_request_space_available(pool))
 					break;
+				mtx_unlock(&pool->sp_lock);
 				rqstp = NULL;
 				stat = svc_getreq(xprt, &rqstp);
 				if (rqstp) {