Getting a new driver’s license is often a hassle. And it still will be for 66,500 Hawaii license holders who were supposed to be able to skip a paperwork step the next time they need a new license.

A city contractor disclosed Thursday that it can’t retrieve scanned images of documents with personal information — including Social Security cards and birth certificates — for 66,500 people statewide who were issued licenses or state ID cards last year between Feb. 25 and Sept. 15. The document collecting system was overseen by the City and County of Honolulu under a state contract.

The IDs issued are still good, but affected cardholders will need to bring original documents when renewing or replacing their IDs.

Some people already have been inconvenienced by the data loss when trying to replace licenses issued last year only to be turned away because their stored personal information could not be accessed.

City officials and the contractor apologized for the mishap and stressed that there was no security breach of personal information.

“There is zero risk of identity theft,” said city spokesman Andrew Pereira.

The problem stems from a Sept. 15 computer server crash at Marquis ID Systems, a contractor working with the city to ensure Hawaii is in compliance with heightened federal requirements for state-issued IDs. Computer trouble that disrupted driver’s licence transactions statewide in June is unrelated to the current problem, the city said.

Steve Purdy, sales and marketing vice president for Marquis, said computer storage discs were damaged in the September crash. As a result, scanned and encrypted information — including fingerprints and documents proving residency — could not be retrieved for 66,500 individuals representing a minority of individuals who have had their documents encrypted and stored.

Since 2014 the city has been scanning and storing personal information of driver’s license and state ID applicants as part of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiative to make the country safer.

“There were some records that were unreadable, but they were in our possession and are still in our possession today,” Purdy said.

Sheri Kajiwara, director of the City Department of Customer Services, said, “It’s more of an inconvenience. There was no security breach.”

The city said Marquis informed the city Feb. 12, after customer complaints, that its data had been corrupted. The company and the city said they have been working since that time to understand and address the problem.

In mid-January, Hawaii began issuing what Homeland Security calls REAL ID driver’s licenses and state ID cards featuring the image of a star inside a gold circle. Such “gold star” cards will be required to board commercial planes and enter secure federal facilities starting Oct. 1, 2020, unless a person has an alternative acceptable document such as a passport.

The state Department of Transportation in January advised residents that they could obtain gold star IDs without submitting identity documents if that information was previously submitted, which led people to seek the new IDs.

For either the ordinary license or gold star version, a Hawaii applicant must submit original documents proving legal residence, their Social Security number and two documents showing Hawaii residency.

The city plans to send letters to the 66,500 affected customers, at the expense of Marquis, to inform them that their scanned information was affected by the server crash. A follow-up letter will contain specifics about what information was irretrievable and must be resubmitted when a new license or state ID is sought.

Marquis ID Systems Statement by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd