New student societies, periodicals and conferences were required from 1969 to register with the Junior Proctor. Prior to this, during the period 1957-69, authorisation had been given by the Senior Proctor and, earlier still, by the Proctorial Syndicate. They had also to submit a copy of their constitution, annual lists of officers and annual accounts, audited by the Senior Treasurer who should be a senior member of the University. Registered societies, except political ones, were entitled to apply to the Societies Syndicate for financial assistance.
The records in this extensive series comprise, variously, constitutions, officers lists, accounts and correspondence, together with, occasionally, rules, term cards, newscuttings and magazines. They do not include rank and file membership records. Records survive in this series for many more organisations than would be known from their archives proper (catalogued elsewhere in the University Archives, see class SOC especially). Some bodies never completed registration. Others registered but proved short-lived and were deregistered. Others reregistered on revival after years of inactivity. Dates given are those of the records not the organisation's existence. To aid browsing the list below, 'Cambridge University' and 'Cambridge' at the start of a name have been ignored, except in cases where to do so would be misleading.