diff --git a/modules/src/main/java/org/archive/modules/CrawlMetadata.java b/modules/src/main/java/org/archive/modules/CrawlMetadata.java
index 6390ff27..9d810ce4 100644
--- a/modules/src/main/java/org/archive/modules/CrawlMetadata.java
+++ b/modules/src/main/java/org/archive/modules/CrawlMetadata.java
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ implements UserAgentProvider,
     protected static Validator VALIDATOR = new BeanFieldsPatternValidator(
             CrawlMetadata.class,
             "userAgentTemplate", 
-            "^.*\\+@OPERATOR_CONTACT_URL@.*$", 
+            "^.*@OPERATOR_CONTACT_URL@.*$", 
             "You must supply a userAgentTemplate value that includes " +
             "the string \"@OPERATOR_CONTACT_URL@\" where your crawl" +
             "contact URL will appear.",