Cambridge City Hall -- City Clerk

Cambridge City Clerk Department
City Hall, First Floor    
795 Mass. Avenue 
Cambridge, MA 02139      Hours: 8:30am - 5pm
Phone : (617) 349-4260 
 Margaret Drury - City Clerk
Phone: 349-4260

The City Clerk is the official keeper of the City Seal and City Ordinances. All notifications and documents are available to the public, with some exceptions pertaining to vital records.

BIRTH CERTIFICATES

If you were born in Cambridge, you may obtain your birth certificate at the City Clerk's office or at the State Dept. of Vital Statistics:

150 Tremont Street

Boston, MA 02201

(617) 727-0036

If your parents lived in Cambridge at the time of your birth, with some exceptions, you may obtain your birth certificate from the City Clerk's office. Please call the office for clarification of these exceptions.

* In Cambridge the cost is $5.00

HOW DO I GET A COPY OF A BIRTH CERTIFICATE?

You can obtain a copy of your birth certificate in two ways:

1. by mailing a request to the Clerk's office or
2. by physically entering the Office.

A request by mail will be processed and sent out the day it is received at the Clerk's Office. You must make sure of four things:

1. Your check or money order should be made payable to: City of Cambridge.
2. Enclose the payment along with your written request.
3. State your full name and date of birth on the request.
4. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Usually identification is not necessary, however, in certain circumstances it is required, for example, if your parents were not married at the time of your birth.

ARE BIRTH CERTIFICATES PUBLIC RECORDS?

Unless your parents were not married at the time of your birth, birth certificates are available to any member of the public.

MARRIAGE LICENSES

You must come in together with your intended spouse to the City Clerk's Office. This process cannot be done through the mail.

No, according to Massachusetts State Law there is no residency requirement for either party.

You must bring the blood test results of your Pre-Marital Blood Test. This test can be done at any hospital or clinic. The Pre- Marital Blood Test must be submitted to the City Clerk's office within thirty days from when the blood was drawn, or else the results are no longer valid.

The test is only acceptable from out of state if it states:

• the doctor's signature
• the applicants' signature
• the date the test was performed
• the test results
• the stipulation for rubella (if applicable)
• that AIDS Education was given by the doctor

You must go to court and obtain a court order (permission) to marry.

The license will be issued three days later. It can be picked up by either applicant at the Clerk's Office.

The license is valid sixty days from the day the couple came into the office to apply and may be used in any Massachusetts city or town. However, it is not valid outside of the state.

* The cost in Cambridge is $15.00

Assuming the license was issued by the Cambridge City Clerk's Office, you can: a) physically enter the office or b) request a copy by mail. Please send a self-addressed stamped envelope along with your request. * The cost for a copy is $5.00.

DEATH CERTIFICATES

The death certificate is on file in Cambridge if:

• the death occurred in Cambridge
• the deceased resided in Cambridge and the death occurred within the state
• it is a veteran buried in Cambridge

* The cost in Cambridge is $5.00

Assuming the license was issued by the Cambridge City Clerk's office, you can:

• physically enter the office or
• request a copy by mail.

Please send a self-addressed stamped envelope along with your request. The cost for a copy is $5.00. *

A burial permit can be obtained at:

The Health Department of Cambridge Hospital.

1493 Cambridge Street

(617) 498-1000

BUSINESS CERTIFICATES

Any person, partnership, or corporation conducting business in Cambridge under a name other than their own or corporate name.

* The cost in Cambridge is $15.00

A completed business certification form and one type of picture identification.

You can either pick one up at the City Clerk's Office or print a copy of the attached FORM. (You should print it out using the print option and choose the "postscript" format.)

No, the tax identification number comes from the Department of Revenue at the state level. You must apply to the State Department of Revenue for this number.

Every four years

The applicant should come in to the City Clerk's office and file a change of address form. * The cost is $5.00.

If the business is terminated, the applicant should come in to the City Clerk's office and file a discontinuation form. * The cost is $5.00.

If it is a complete change of ownership, a new business certificate must be filed, * with a fee of $15.00.

If it is a partial change of ownership, one of the parties remains the same, the former owner must file a withdrawal form. * The fee is $5.00.