HONOLULU (KHON2) — A small change in Hawaii license plates might cause some problems down the road for new vehicle owners.

Some consider the Hawaii license plate to be iconic with the rainbow design having been used for more than three decades.

Now, all new state license plates have the okina in Hawaii, a subtle change that started this year.

“It really was intended to reinforce Hawaiian language and Hawaiian culture,” said Kim Hashiro, Honolulu Director of Customer Services.

The vendor has delivered the first batch of plates, but the next batch has been delayed. This could potentially cause a delay in issuing new plates down the road.

“Producing a license plate is actually a pretty complicated process, and we are also disappointed by the unforeseen delay in the delivery, but we are working closely with our vendor and doing everything possible to continue to meet customer needs,” said Hashiro.

Dealer temporary paper plates are typically good for 45 days.

City officials remind drivers that alternative plates are available immediately.

The plates support groups like Honolulu Police or Fire, the Polynesian Voyaging Society or the Humane Society, but they also require an initial fee of $30 and an annual renewal fee of $25, some of which goes to the organization.

The City said they are out of new electric vehicle plates, so drivers will be given an organization plate temporarily and then switched out to the regular EV plate when available.

“And we are asking customers to leave their contact information with us, so we can follow up with them and make the exchange very easy and convenient for them,” said Hashiro.

Old license plates with a current registration do not need to be replaced.

Also, the new plates start with the letter “Y,” which means we’re almost at the end of the alphabet.

City officials said they had already planned for that as the rainbow plates started at “E.” Once the plates run through “Z,” it’s back to the top.

“Once that’s exhausted, then we’re going to switch to A, and you will see, the public will see A through D, ABCD license plates on the road,” said Hashiro.