AUGUSTA — People who don’t like the little red lobsters on their license plates can get out their paintbrushes and do away with the critters, under a law that took effect this week.

But state officials hope the change won’t be construed as an open license for people to redesign the plates.

“It was the populace of the state of Maine that decided this was an appropriate symbol and identifier,” said William Dowling, director of enforcement and regulation for the state Division of Motor Vehicles. “I think it’s good public policy to uphold the wishes of the people of Maine as well as the Maine Legislature.”

State law previously prohibited people from changing the words or illustration on license plates.

But the word “illustrations” has been removed from the law, which now prohibits people from obscuring “identification numbers, identification letters, the state name, validation stickers or marks distinguishing the type of registration.”

When the lobster license plates were issued in 1987, some people were resentful.

Legislators adopted the symbol after schoolchildren from Saco and Kennebunk had lobbied for the figure. But residents from inland areas said a lobster was symbolic only of the coast and did not appropriately represent their regions.