Maine's new license plates featuring the pine tree and North Star are being manufactured by a Canadian company, because state officials say the job is too big for the Maine State Prison production facility.
Waldale Manufacturing Limited of Nova Scotia was chosen to stamp the two million license plates to be distributed across Maine by July of next year.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said registrants should get their new plates when it's time to re-register.
"When your regular registration date comes up you go to your town and get your new stickers and new plates," Bellows said.
The July 2026 date was chosen to give extra time to Mainers who forget to re-register their car, according to Bellows.
She said more than $100 million in annual revenue is raised through licenses and registrations and a new plate rollout will spur a bump in registrations.
"For all the scofflaws out there, it can be easy to slide by with old plates and dated stickers. But it's impossible to slide by once the plates have switched over," she said.
Two years ago, lawmakers voted to designate unused Bureau of Motor Vehicle funds to fulfill the cost of the project, more than $5.8 million.
Bellows said it's been 25 years since Maine last issued a new license plate, the chickadee that replaced the lobster.