EXHIBIT 31.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Daryl R. Forsythe, certify that:

1.  I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of NBT Bancorp Inc.

2.  Based  on  my  knowledge,  this quarterly 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 quarterly
report;

3.  Based  on  my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and  other financial
information  included  in  this quarterly 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 quarterly report;

4.  The  registrant's  other  certifying  officer  and  I  are  responsible  for
establishing  and  maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange  Act  Rules  13a-15(e) and 15(d)-15(e)) for the registrant and we 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  quarterly  report  is  being  prepared;

b)  Evaluated  the  effectiveness  of  the  registrant's disclosure controls and
procedures  and  presented  in  this  quarterly 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

c)  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 (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual
report)  that  has  materially  affected,  or is reasonably likely to materially
affect,  the  registrant's  internal  control  over  financial  reporting;

5.  The  registrant's  other  certifying officers 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  function):

a)  All  significant  deficiencies  and  material  weaknesses  in  the design or
operations  of internal controls 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 controls over
financial  reporting.

Date:  August 6, 2004

By:  /s/  Daryl R. Forsythe
     ------------------------------
       Chairman and Chief Executive
       Officer