diff --git a/yarn-project/aztec/src/deploy/deploy.test.ts b/yarn-project/aztec/src/deploy/deploy.test.ts
index 8dfa8096e5d5..664d91eab925 100644
--- a/yarn-project/aztec/src/deploy/deploy.test.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/aztec/src/deploy/deploy.test.ts
@@ -66,6 +66,23 @@ describe('runDeployment', () => {
       },
     } satisfies ActionStep<Contracts>;
 
+    // Five more same-account actions: together they exceed one batch, exercising the fee-call
+    // slot reservation in action chunking. They mint to `operator` (declared below), never to
+    // admin — defToken's deferred name reads the admin balance, and it must not depend on where
+    // these land relative to its resolution.
+    const extraMints = Object.fromEntries(
+      Array.from({ length: 5 }, (_, i) => [
+        `mintExtra${i}`,
+        {
+          kind: 'action',
+          from: r => r.account('admin'),
+          dependsOn: ['token'],
+          call: ctx => ctx.instance('token').methods.mint_to_public(operator, 1n),
+          done: async ctx => !(await ctx.ran('token')),
+        } satisfies ActionStep<Contracts>,
+      ]),
+    );
+
     // Deferred: its name reads runtime state (the token supply `mint` creates), so the address can
     // only resolve once `mint` has run. On a re-run the state is already there, so the framework
     // resolves it at inventory time and discovers it published — nothing to send.
@@ -145,7 +162,7 @@ describe('runDeployment', () => {
       accounts: { admin: { secret, salt } },
       // Admin is genesis-funded well above this threshold ⇒ "funded" ⇒ pays from balance (no bridge).
       fees: { kind: 'fee-juice', threshold: 1n, fundAmount: 0n } as const,
-      steps: { ...contracts, mint, defToken, mintDef, fundOperator },
+      steps: { ...contracts, mint, ...extraMints, defToken, mintDef, fundOperator },
       output: capture,
     };
 
diff --git a/yarn-project/aztec/src/deploy/runner.ts b/yarn-project/aztec/src/deploy/runner.ts
index d132f86043a6..bb9172cadcc5 100644
--- a/yarn-project/aztec/src/deploy/runner.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/aztec/src/deploy/runner.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@
  *   AT EXECUTION TIME, once their `dependsOn` has run.
  * - Steps execute in topological layers over the single graph, so an action can precede a contract
  *   it sets up. Within a layer, contract publishes are individual txs and same-account actions batch
- *   into ≤{@link APP_MAX_CALLS}-call BatchCalls. The one-time fee-juice claim per account is
+ *   into BatchCalls of {@link APP_MAX_CALLS} - 1 (the entrypoint's limit counts the fee payment
+ *   call, so a full batch leaves no room for it). The one-time fee-juice claim per account is
  *   consumed + mined by that account's first tx before the rest fan out.
  * - Fund steps provision arbitrary addresses (contracts or accounts that never send) with bridged
  *   Fee Juice: bridge at execution time, then an L2 claim tx from the step's `from` account. Their
@@ -837,7 +838,11 @@ class DeploymentRun<C extends Steps> {
     return units;
   }
 
-  /** A layer's actions, batching independent same-account actions into ≤{@link APP_MAX_CALLS}-call BatchCalls. */
+  /**
+   * A layer's actions, batching independent same-account actions into BatchCalls of
+   * {@link APP_MAX_CALLS} - 1 — the entrypoint's call limit counts the fee payment call, so a full
+   * batch leaves no room for it.
+   */
   private actionUnits(layer: string[]): ExecutionUnit[] {
     const actionsByAccount = new Map<string, { account: AztecAddress; aliases: string[] }>();
     for (const alias of layer.filter(a => this.actionSteps.has(a))) {
@@ -851,7 +856,7 @@ class DeploymentRun<C extends Steps> {
     }
     const units: ExecutionUnit[] = [];
     for (const { account, aliases } of actionsByAccount.values()) {
-      for (const batch of chunk(aliases, APP_MAX_CALLS)) {
+      for (const batch of chunk(aliases, APP_MAX_CALLS - 1)) {
         units.push({
           label: batch.length === 1 ? `action ${batch[0]}` : `batch [${batch.join(', ')}]`,
           kind: 'action',