2/1/2001 -- Get ready to shell out $19.95 for those Brainbench certifications: That's the price the online certification company will start charging its customers on March 1, Brainbench co-founder Mike Littman told CertCities in an exclusive interview today.

Brainbench currently offers its 275+ internally created certification exams free to its 2 million registered users. The company announced in January that it would starting charging for its certifications in March; however, the price point for the exams has not been made public until now.

According to Littman, the $19.95 fee will include paper certificates that candidates receive once they pass a test (currently, the certificates cost $8). He said that the online certification company will start notifying its customers of the price tomorrow.

Not all of the company's certifications will convert to the paid model at once: The transition is being made in stages, with some of the site's exams remaining free through 2001 and beyond.

Brainbench is confident that now is the right time to start charging for its certifications. "[We're] very bullish," said Littman, who added that since the company starting charging $8 for its paper certifications in January, the site's traffic has, in fact, seen a bump, and that more members than expected have ordered the certificates.

The company itself has reached some major milestones recently: It is the first online testing company to become ISO 9001 certified, and is working with PeopleSoft and IBM to create custom certification programs.

Brainbench can be found at www.brainbench.com. -B.N.