1/20/2004 -- Beginning May 15 Cisco Systems will begin automatically dropping Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) lab exam registrations if payment is not received four weeks before the reserved lab date.

While Cisco has always required payment 28 days in advance, currently candidates must cancel the reservation themselves before the due date or incur a charge for the full fee.

Cisco said that the new policy, announced last week, will "lessen the chance a candidate who decides not to take the exam will still end up being charged the fee." However, the company cautions that automatic removal will make prompt payment more important for those intending to sit the exam.

In other CCIE news, the company also announced that lab candidates in Sydney, Australia will be now be charged at GST tax of 10 percent, making the total exam price in this location $1,375 (U.S.).

More information on both of these announcements can be found here. -Becky Nagel