diff --git a/cadc-util/src/main/java/org/opencadc/persist/Entity.java b/cadc-util/src/main/java/org/opencadc/persist/Entity.java
index d2b8973e..4de5b19c 100644
--- a/cadc-util/src/main/java/org/opencadc/persist/Entity.java
+++ b/cadc-util/src/main/java/org/opencadc/persist/Entity.java
@@ -448,6 +448,9 @@ protected byte[] primitiveValueToBytes(Object o, String name, String digestAlg)
             ret = new byte[16];
             System.arraycopy(msb, 0, ret, 0, 8);
             System.arraycopy(lsb, 0, ret, 8, 8);
+        } else if (o instanceof byte[]) {
+            byte[] bytes = (byte[]) o;
+            return bytes;
         }
 
         if (ret != null) {