Useful Documents & Resources
The City of Cambridge offers residents an easy and convenient method to view and pay their real estate, motor vehicle excise, personal property, water bills, Municipal Lien Certificates, and Vital records online.
This is a fee based service. Credit card fees are 2.95% and EFT fees are a flat rate of $0.40 per transaction. The convenience fee for the online bill payment is assessed by the third-party merchant. Two separate charges will appear on your credit card or checking account statement. One charge will represent your bill payment, and the other charge will represent your transaction fee. Additionally, a Payment Mailbox was installed in the rear of City Hall, 795 Mass. Ave. for taxpayers who wish to make payments (checks and money orders preferred) directly to the City. To see other Finance Department updates related to due date extensions and late payment waivers, visit the Finance Section under City Services on the City's COVID-19 Page .
Announcing pay by phone
You can now check balances and pay your City of Cambridge invoices using any phone’s numbers-keypad via Interactive Voice Response (IVR) by calling (617) 314-8226.You can check balances on all invoices for free. Additional $0.95 fee only applies for payments made.
How to Start
Ensure that you have the relevant information you need for your transaction, including bill number, parcel ID, or account number, if applicable.
Visit our online system to view or pay a bill, or to order certificates .
Select the type of transaction you want to complete
Fill in the required information
Complete payment
Requirements General Information:
No registration is required for "One Time Pay", the fastest way to pay online and confirm payment.
Your information is kept confidential, secure, and backed by the highest security standards.
Paying online reduces paper use and is an easy way to help the environment.
Registry Holds:
If you are currently on registry hold and all your outstanding excise tax bills are paid in full, please contact the finance department at (617) 349-4220 to electronically remove the registry hold.
If you are currently on registry hold for the non-payment of excise tax bills and you pay by e-check, you must wait seven business days before we process your release with the registry.
Fees:
If you are paying a real estate, personal property, excise tax or water/sewer bill, the fee to use a credit/debit card is 2.95% of the transaction with a $1.95 minimum fee.
If you are ordering a Municipal Lien, Birth, Death or Marriage Certificate, the fee to use a credit/debit card is 2.95% of the transaction with a $1.95 minimum fee.
The fee for a returned check due to an incorrect account or routing number is $15.00.
The fee for a returned check due to insufficient funds is $25.00.
We accept MasterCard, Discover, and Amex for water bills.
To use an E-Check, the fee is $0.40.
Additional Payment Information The convenience fee for the online bill payment is assessed by the 3rd party merchant. Two separate charges will appear on your credit card or checking account statement. One charge will represent your bill payment and the other charge will represent your transaction fee.
We can only accept U.S. credit cards, debit cards, and checking accounts, excluding Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.