City of Cambridge Office of the City Clerk
The City Clerk’s Office began a long-term preservation and digitization effort in 2021 that continues into 2026, with the goal of providing public access to the city’s permanent legislative records collection. This website holds the digitized copies of the City Clerk’s historical legislative collection, and the website is updated periodically as the City Clerk’s Records Management and Archives (RMA) team works through its cleaning, organization, and preservation efforts. Included on this website is an introduction to the collection, a navigational guide, and an explanation on the search options. Stay tuned as we upload new records in the coming months!
While the hard copies of the legislative records are in fragile condition, the digitized copies are now available for public viewing on this partner website to the City Clerk’s main service site.
*If you are seeking information on current records and need assistance with filing a marriage intention, requesting vital records, or scheduling a marriage ceremony, please refer back to the Cambridge City Clerk’s office main website for further guidance.
*If you would like to submit an official records request to the City of Cambridge, please submit your request through the City of Cambridge Public Records Access website and the Records Officer will help coordinate the search for records.
Introduction to the Collection
The Cambridge City Clerk’s Office holds the permanent legislative collection for the city, dating as far back as 1630, when Cambridge was first established as a town. Per Chapter 2.24.010 of the municipal code, the Cambridge City Clerk serves as the official record keeper for the City of Cambridge, and as such, is working with the Records Management and Archives team to ensure that appropriate measures are taken for the long-term storage and preservation of the city’s permanent record collection. The City Clerk’s permanent records are divided into two primary categories: vital records and the legislative collection.
The vital records, dating back to the early 1800s, hold the birth, marriage, and death records of the city’s population and support for these records can be found in-person at the City Clerk’s office or via electronic request on the City Clerk’s website. The vital records collection also contains the physician and business certificates for those individuals and businesses practicing within city limits. Filing and requesting these records is handled on the main website and in the City Clerk’s Office at 795 Massachusetts Avenue, 1st Floor.
The legislative records date back to 1630 and document the development of Cambridge from its early years as a town to the modern day, depicting its establishment as a city and the development of the city government to include the departments, committees, boards, and commissions we see today. Additionally, the legislative collection consists primarily of legislative council records (i.e., voting records, appointments, orders, resolutions, letters, communications, etc.), along with the occasional supplemental large print materials.
The Series names are as follows:
- Appointments
- Board of Aldermen
- Common Council
- Office of the City Clerk
- School Committee
- Board of Health
- Elections Commission
- Committee on Roads & Bridges
- Sewers Commission
- Committee on Wires & Poles, Telephones and Telegraphs
- Fire Department
- Police Department
- Committee on Sinking Funds
- Public Celebrations Committee
- Committee on Public Property
- and more!