AUGUSTA — About 3,600 Mainers received new license plates with “a spacing error” that could cause the E-Z Pass toll system to misread the plate, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows described the misprint as a small percentage of the two million new plates that will be printed over the next year.

“The people that received them in the mail now have a collector’s item,” Bellows said. “The manufacturer recognized the error, they fixed the problem at no cost to the state.”

Bellows said as long as drivers registered their license plates with the state, they should not encounter any problems. Drivers can leave the plates on their vehicles until they receive new ones, she said. 

New plates are expected to be sent out in August.

In a statement, Bellows’ office said someone may have registered their vehicle as “AA 123” but the printed plate looks like “AA123.”

The new plates are part of an effort to update the state’s standard plate, with all Chickadee plates currently in use set to be replaced by the new Pine Tree or Classic standard plates over the next year.

“People should not have any anxiety if they got the wrong plate or if they are waiting for their stickers or anything else because if you registered on time, you are all set,” Bellows said.