diff --git a/AccessQueueService/Data/AccessQueueRepository.cs b/AccessQueueService/Data/AccessQueueRepository.cs
index 117c03e..6edef9f 100644
--- a/AccessQueueService/Data/AccessQueueRepository.cs
+++ b/AccessQueueService/Data/AccessQueueRepository.cs
@@ -179,19 +179,18 @@ namespace AccessQueueService.Data
             _nextUnusedTicket = newIndex;
         }
 
-        public string ToState()
+        public TakeANumberAccessQueueRepoState ToState()
         {
             var state = new TakeANumberAccessQueueRepoState
             {
                 AccessTickets = new Dictionary<string, AccessTicket>(_accessTickets),
                 AccessQueue = new Dictionary<ulong, AccessTicket>(_accessQueue),
             };
-            return JsonSerializer.Serialize(state);
+            return state;
         }
 
-        public static AccessQueueRepository FromState(string stateJson)
+        public static AccessQueueRepository FromState(TakeANumberAccessQueueRepoState state)
         {
-            var state = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<TakeANumberAccessQueueRepoState?>(stateJson);
             if (state?.AccessTickets == null || state?.AccessQueue == null)
             {
                 return new();
diff --git a/AccessQueueService/Program.cs b/AccessQueueService/Program.cs
index aaf86ba..1c6ba7b 100644
--- a/AccessQueueService/Program.cs
+++ b/AccessQueueService/Program.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
+using System.Text.Json;
 using AccessQueueService.Data;
+using AccessQueueService.Models;
 using AccessQueueService.Services;
 using Serilog;
 
@@ -24,8 +26,14 @@ builder.Services.AddSingleton<AccessQueueRepository>(sp =>
     {
         try
         {
-            var json = File.ReadAllText(filePath);
-            return AccessQueueRepository.FromState(json);
+            string json = File.ReadAllText(filePath);
+            var state = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<TakeANumberAccessQueueRepoState>(json);
+            if (state == null)
+            {
+                Console.WriteLine($"Failed to load state from {filePath}. Deserialized object was null.");
+                return new AccessQueueRepository();
+            }
+            return AccessQueueRepository.FromState(state);
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
diff --git a/AccessQueueService/Services/AccessQueueSerializerService.cs b/AccessQueueService/Services/AccessQueueSerializerService.cs
index c24a023..20aab6d 100644
--- a/AccessQueueService/Services/AccessQueueSerializerService.cs
+++ b/AccessQueueService/Services/AccessQueueSerializerService.cs
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ namespace AccessQueueService.Services
                 {
                     _logger.LogInformation($"Writing backup to {backupPath}");
                     var stateJson = _accessRepo.ToState();
-                    File.WriteAllText(backupPath, stateJson);
+                    File.WriteAllText(backupPath, JsonSerializer.Serialize(stateJson));
                 }
                 catch (Exception ex)
                 {
diff --git a/AccessQueueServiceTests/AccessQueueRepoTests.cs b/AccessQueueServiceTests/AccessQueueRepoTests.cs
index c9efb60..ba56994 100644
--- a/AccessQueueServiceTests/AccessQueueRepoTests.cs
+++ b/AccessQueueServiceTests/AccessQueueRepoTests.cs
@@ -287,8 +287,7 @@ namespace AccessQueueServiceTests
             _repo.UpsertTicket(ticketWithAccess);
             _repo.Enqueue(ticketWithoutAccess);
 
-            string stateJson = _repo.ToState();
-            var state = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<TakeANumberAccessQueueRepoState>(stateJson);
+            var state = _repo.ToState();
 
             Assert.NotNull(state?.AccessQueue);
             Assert.NotNull(state?.AccessTickets);
@@ -312,8 +311,8 @@ namespace AccessQueueServiceTests
             _repo.UpsertTicket(ticketWithAccess);
             _repo.Enqueue(ticketWithoutAccess);
 
-            string stateJson = _repo.ToState();
-            var deserializedRepo = AccessQueueRepository.FromState(stateJson);
+            var state = _repo.ToState();
+            var deserializedRepo = AccessQueueRepository.FromState(state);
 
             Assert.Equal(1, deserializedRepo.GetUnexpiredTicketsCount());
             Assert.Equal(1, deserializedRepo.GetQueueCount());