EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATION OF PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF CHEMUNG

FINANCIAL CORPORATION PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14(a) UNDER THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934.

I, Ronald M. Bentley, certify that:

1.  I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Chemung Financial Corporation;

2.  Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or

omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under

which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.  Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in

this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash

flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining

disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and

internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for

the registrant and have:

a)  designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and

procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the

registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities,

particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b)  designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over

financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding

the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in

accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented

in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the

end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting

that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably

likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent

evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee

of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a)  all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal

control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to

record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b)  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a

significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date:  May 14, 2012

By:           /s/ Ronald M. Bentley

President and Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)