By Karen E. Klein

Q: Is it worth the time to seek state or national certification as a woman-owned business? I have downloaded the form and information, but it's confusing. I also know women who got themselves certified -- and then said it did them no good. Can you explain the pluses and minuses? -- Y.D., Rochester, N.Y.

A: Woman-owned business certifications are granted by public and private agencies to outfits that can prove they are at least 51%-owned and -operated by women. The certifications offer a seal of approval, showing that a company's claim of being woman-owned has been investigated thoroughly by an outside group and found to be true. Similar certifications are offered for minority-owned businesses.

Whether you should seek certification depends upon your target market, says Blanca Robinson, senior director of field operations for the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), which bills itself as the nation's largest third-party certifier. For instance, if you are marketing your products or services to the general public, it's probably not necessary to become certified. But many companies find certification can give them an extra edge, which can be particularly helpful when facing off with larger competitors.

First, the drawbacks: Along with a processing fee that may range as high as $350, the certification process tends to be stringent, involving a lot of paperwork and even a site visit. There's no question that applying for certification "can be a daunting, time-consuming process," Robinson says. Her agency, and others like it, perform exhaustive due diligence in order to weed out unscrupulous operators who would like to game the system by putting a female figurehead in an essentially male-owned and -operated concern, she says.

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS.  Another wrinkle is that multiple groups issue certifications. There's no single, agreed-upon certificate accepted across-the-board. Obtaining a woman-owned business certificate from one entity does not necessarily exempt you from having to qualify for another when doing business with a customer looking for a different one. Rather than apply to several different groups, and going through a long, costly process for each, a woman entrepreneur should investigate which certification is likely to be accepted by the majority of her potential customers.

When is it definitely in a woman entrepreneur's best interest to become certified? If she plans to do business with local, state, or federal government agencies, or subcontract with or supply companies that get government contracts.

Federal policy actively gives contracting preferences to small, disadvantaged, and woman-owned firms, and many state and local entities follow suit. If your company wants to compete for the more than $200 billion in goods and services that the U.S. government buys from the private sector each year, becoming certified -- while not legally required -- should open up many marketing advantages and business opportunities.

Contact the agencies you're interested in for information on their certification process. In New York, for example, you can apply for certification through the Economic Development Dept. (information is available at the site for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses .

"GREAT MARKETING TOOL."  One option is to self-certify your business as woman-owned through the federal Central Contracting Registration site, which is used by both federal agencies and large contractors that are seeking small-business partners. Download information on the certification programs offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Transportation Dept.

Even if you don't plan to do business with the government, getting certified can certainly lend viability and credibility. "Certification itself is not a guarantee of a contract, but certification is a great marketing tool for expanding your company's visibility among decision-makers," Robinson says. "Many corporations are strongly encouraging -- and a few are even mandating -- that women-owned businesses interested in securing corporate contracts become certified."

Karen Whistler, owner of Redi-Tag in Cypress, Calif., has been certified for seven years through the WBENC and says her office-supply manufacturing company is able to land contracts it otherwise might not because of the stamp of approval.

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