COLUMBUS (AP) — Officials in Ohio say an auto-generated email mistakenly informed 11,000 nurses in Ohio that their licenses weren’t recognized by the state.

The Columbus Dispatch reports more than two-thirds of Ohio’s 16,760 advanced-practice registered nurses received the incorrect message New Year’s Day. The email was generated by the state Department of Administrative Services through Ohio’s eLicense system. Administrative Services spokesman Tom Hoyt says the cause of the error is unclear.

The Ohio Board of Nursing emailed all APRNs about the mistake immediately after the error was discovered. Officials later updated the board website with a notification.

State law now requires APRNs become licensed. Nurses are required to renew their licenses every other year.

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com