<PAGE>
 
   As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 10, 1996

                                                     File No. 333-______________

================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     Under
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                          ---------------------------

                               THE REGISTRY, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


          MASSACHUSETTS                                 04-2920563
  (State or other jurisdiction                       (I.R.S. Employer
  of incorporation or organization)                 Identification No.)


                               189 Wells Avenue
                          Newton, Massachusetts 02159
         (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
            ------------------------------------------------------

                       THE REGISTRY, INC. 1996 STOCK PLAN
              THE REGISTRY, INC. 1996 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
             THE REGISTRY, INC. 1996 ELIGIBLE DIRECTORS STOCK PLAN
             1994 STOCK OPTION PLAN OF APPLICATION RESOURCES, INC.

                           ------------------------
                           (Full title of the plan)

                            Richard L. Bugley, Esq.
                                General Counsel
                               The Registry, Inc.
                                189 Wells Avenue
                          Newton, Massachusetts  02159
                                 (617) 527-6886

            ------------------------------------------------------
(Name, Address and Telephone Number, including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
===============================================================================================

<S>                   <C>               <C>                 <C>                 <C>        
Title of Securities     Amount to be    Proposed maximum    Proposed maximum     Amount of    
to be registered(1)     registered      offering price      aggregate offering   registration                                  
                                        per share           price                fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Common Stock,           2,217,895        $49.75              $110,340,276.00     $33,437.00
 no par value   
===============================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)  Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the registration fee
     pursuant to Rule 457(h) on the basis of the average of the high and low
     prices of The Registry, Inc. Common Stock, no par value, reported on the
     NASDAQ National Market on December 6, 1996.

                            Exhibit Index on page 4;
                              Page 1 of 9 pages.
<PAGE>
 
                                    PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.   Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
          --------------------------------------- 

     The Registry, Inc. (the "Registrant" or the "Company") hereby incorporates
the following documents herein by reference:

     (i)    Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 29, 1996
            including portions of the Company's definitive Proxy Statement dated
            October 28, 1996 filed in connection with the Company's 1996 Annual
            Meeting of Stockholders.

     (ii)   Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 28,
            1996.

     (iii)  Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on December 10,
            1996.

     (iv)   The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
            registration statement on Form 8-A, File No. 0-28192.

All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant or the Plan pursuant to
Section 13(a), Section 13(c), Section 14 and Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act
prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this registration statement
that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters
all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed incorporated herein by
reference from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4.   Description of Securities.
          ------------------------- 

     Not applicable.

Item 5.   Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
          -------------------------------------- 
 
     Not applicable.

Item 6.   Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
          ----------------------------------------- 

     Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 156B, Section 67, empowers a
Massachusetts corporation to indemnify any person in connection with any action,
suit or proceeding brought or threatened by reason of the fact that such person
is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or was
serving as such with respect to another corporation or other entity at the
request of such corporation, unless such person shall have been adjudicated in
any proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that
such action was in the best interests of the Company.  The Company's Restated
Articles of Organization, as amended and restated, contains provisions that
require the Company to indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest
extent permitted by Massachusetts law.

Item 7.   Exemption From Registration Claimed.
          ----------------------------------- 

     Not applicable.

                                       1
<PAGE>
 
Item 8.   Exhibits.
          -------- 

Exhibit

4.1.     Restated Articles of Organization of Registrant (incorporated by
         reference to Exhibit 3.2. of the Registrant's Registration Statement on
         Form S-1, File No. 333-3366).

4.2.     Amended and Restated By-laws of Registrant (incorporated by reference
         to Exhibit 3.4. of the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1,
         File No. 333-3366).

5.       Opinion of Ropes & Gray.

23.1.    Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP.

23.2.    Consent of Ropes & Gray (contained in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5 to
         this registration statement).

24.      Power of Attorney (included on signature page).

Item 9.  Undertakings.
         ------------ 

         (a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

             (1) to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
         made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement, (i) to
         include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities
         Act of 1933, (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
         arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the
         most recent post-effective amendment thereof), which, individually or
         in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set
         forth in the registration statement, and (iii) to include any material
         information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
         disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
         information in the registration statement; provided, however, that
                                                    --------  -------
         paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) shall not apply if the information
         required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
         paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the registrant
         pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
         of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration
         statement.

             (2)  that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
         Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be
         deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
         offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
         be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof;

             (3) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective
         amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at
         the termination of the offering.

     (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of
the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act
and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses
incurred or paid by a

                                       2
<PAGE>
 
director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful
defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer
or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the
Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been
settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction
the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as
expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such
issue.

                                       3
<PAGE>
 
                        EXHIBIT INDEX



    Number             Title of Exhibit                  Page
    ------             ----------------                  ----
     4.1.              Restated Articles of
                       Organization of Registrant
                       (incorporated by reference to
                       Exhibit 3.2. of the
                       Registrant's Registration
                       Statement on Form S-1, File
                       No. 333-3366).

     4.2.              Amended and Restated By-
                       laws of Registrant
                       (incorporated by reference to
                       Exhibit 3.4. of the
                       Registrant's Registration 
                       Statement on Form S-1, File
                       No. 333-3366).

       5.              Opinion of Ropes & Gray.              6

     23.1.             Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP.      7

     23.2.             Consent of Ropes & Gray
                       (contained in the opinion filed
                       as Exhibit 5 to this 
                       registration statement).

      24.              Power of Attorney (included
                       on signature page).

                                       4
<PAGE>
 
                                  SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement on Form S-8 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of Newton, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on
this 9th day of December, 1996.

                                    THE REGISTRY, INC.
 



                                    By: /s/ G. Drew Conway
                                       _________________________________________
                                     Name:  G. Drew Conway
                                     Title: President and Chief Executive
                                            Officer



                               POWER OF ATTORNEY
                               -----------------

     Pursuant to the requirement of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.  Each person whose signature appears
below hereby authorizes and constitutes G. Drew Conway, Richard L. Bugley and
Keith F. Higgins, and each of them singly, his true and lawful attorneys with
full power to them, and each of them singly, to sign for him and in his name in
the capacities indicated below any and all amendments (including post-effective
amendments) to this Registration Statement and to file the same, with exhibits
thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, and he hereby ratifies and
confirms his signature as it may be signed by said attorneys, or any of them, to
any and all such amendments.


Signature                Capacity in Which Signed           Date
---------                ------------------------           ----



/s/ G. Drew Conway       President, Chief Executive          December 9, 1996
---------------------    Officer and Director of the
G. Drew Conway           Company (principal executive 
                         officer)
                                                


/s/ Robert E. Foley      Chief Financial Officer and         December 9, 1996
---------------------    Treasurer (principal financial 
Robert E. Foley          and accounting officer)
                                               

/s/ Paul C. O'Brien      Director                            December 9, 1996
---------------------                                
Paul C. O'Brien          
                        
                 
/s/ Robert P. Badavas    Director                            December 9, 1996 
---------------------     
Robert P. Badavas
                        

                                         5
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 14541}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "REGISTRY INC", "cik": "0001012123", "assigned-sic": "7370", "irs-number": "042920563", "state-of-incorporation": "MA", "fiscal-year-end": "0531"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-17565", "film-number": "96678587"}, "business-address": {"street1": "189 WELLA AVE", "city": "NEWTON", "state": "MA", "zip": "02159", "phone": "6175276886"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "189 WELLS AVE", "city": "NEWTON", "state": "MA", "zip": "02159"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 10, 1996

                                                     File No. 333-______________

================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     Under
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                          ---------------------------

                               THE REGISTRY, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          MASSACHUSETTS                                 04-2920563
  (State or other jurisdiction                       (I.R.S. Employer
  of incorporation or organization)                 Identification No.)

                               189 Wells Avenue
                          Newton, Massachusetts 02159
         (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
            ------------------------------------------------------

                       THE REGISTRY, INC. 1996 STOCK PLAN
              THE REGISTRY, INC. 1996 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
             THE REGISTRY, INC. 1996 ELIGIBLE DIRECTORS STOCK PLAN
             1994 STOCK OPTION PLAN OF APPLICATION RESOURCES, INC.

                           ------------------------
                           (Full title of the plan)

                            Richard L. Bugley, Esq.
                                General Counsel
                               The Registry, Inc.
                                189 Wells Avenue
                          Newton, Massachusetts  02159
                                 (617) 527-6886

            ------------------------------------------------------
(Name, Address and Telephone Number, including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
===============================================================================================
Title of Securities     Amount to be    Proposed maximum    Proposed maximum     Amount of    
to be registered(1)     registered      offering price      aggregate offering   registration                                  
                                        per share           price                fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Common Stock,           2,217,895        $49.75              $110,340,276.00     $33,437.00
 no par value   
===============================================================================================
(1)  Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the registration fee
     pursuant to Rule 457(h) on the basis of the average of the high and low
     prices of The Registry, Inc. Common Stock, no par value, reported on the
     NASDAQ National Market on December 6, 1996.

                            Exhibit Index on page 4;
                              Page 1 of 9 pages.
PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.   Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
          --------------------------------------- 

     The Registry, Inc. (the "Registrant" or the "Company") hereby incorporates
the following documents herein by reference:

     (i)    Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 29, 1996
            including portions of the Company's definitive Proxy Statement dated
            October 28, 1996 filed in connection with the Company's 1996 Annual
            Meeting of Stockholders.

     (ii)   Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 28,
            1996.

     (iii)  Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on December 10,
            1996.

     (iv)   The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
            registration statement on Form 8-A, File No. 0-28192.

All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant or the Plan pursuant to
Section 13(a), Section 13(c), Section 14 and Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act
prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this registration statement
that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters
all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed incorporated herein by
reference from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4.   Description of Securities.
          ------------------------- 

     Not applicable.

Item 5.   Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
          -------------------------------------- 
 
     Not applicable.

Item 6.   Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
          ----------------------------------------- 

     Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 156B, Section 67, empowers a
Massachusetts corporation to indemnify any person in connection with any action,
suit or proceeding brought or threatened by reason of the fact that such person
is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or was
serving as such with respect to another corporation or other entity at the
request of such corporation, unless such person shall have been adjudicated in
any proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that
such action was in the best interests of the Company.  The Company's Restated
Articles of Organization, as amended and restated, contains provisions that
require the Company to indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest
extent permitted by Massachusetts law.

Item 7.   Exemption From Registration Claimed.
          ----------------------------------- 

     Not applicable.

                                       1
Item 8.   Exhibits.
          -------- 

Exhibit

4.1.     Restated Articles of Organization of Registrant (incorporated by
         reference to Exhibit 3.2. of the Registrant's Registration Statement on
         Form S-1, File No. 333-3366).

4.2.     Amended and Restated By-laws of Registrant (incorporated by reference
         to Exhibit 3.4. of the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1,
         File No. 333-3366).

5.       Opinion of Ropes & Gray.

23.1.    Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP.

23.2.    Consent of Ropes & Gray (contained in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5 to
         this registration statement).

24.      Power of Attorney (included on signature page).

Item 9.  Undertakings.
         ------------ 

         (a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

             (1) to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
         made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement, (i) to
         include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities
         Act of 1933, (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
         arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the
         most recent post-effective amendment thereof), which, individually or
         in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set
         forth in the registration statement, and (iii) to include any material
         information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
         disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
         information in the registration statement; provided, however, that
                                                    --------  -------
         paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) shall not apply if the information
         required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
         paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the registrant
         pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
         of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration
         statement.

             (2)  that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
         Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be
         deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
         offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
         be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof;

             (3) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective
         amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at
         the termination of the offering.

     (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of
the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act
and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses
incurred or paid by a

                                       2
director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful
defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer
or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the
Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been
settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction
the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as
expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such
issue.

                                       3
EXHIBIT INDEX

    Number             Title of Exhibit                  Page
    ------             ----------------                  ----
     4.1.              Restated Articles of
                       Organization of Registrant
                       (incorporated by reference to
                       Exhibit 3.2. of the
                       Registrant's Registration
                       Statement on Form S-1, File
                       No. 333-3366).

     4.2.              Amended and Restated By-
                       laws of Registrant
                       (incorporated by reference to
                       Exhibit 3.4. of the
                       Registrant's Registration 
                       Statement on Form S-1, File
                       No. 333-3366).

       5.              Opinion of Ropes & Gray.              6

     23.1.             Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP.      7

     23.2.             Consent of Ropes & Gray
                       (contained in the opinion filed
                       as Exhibit 5 to this 
                       registration statement).

      24.              Power of Attorney (included
                       on signature page).

                                       4
SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement on Form S-8 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of Newton, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on
this 9th day of December, 1996.

                                    THE REGISTRY, INC.
 

                                    By: /s/ G. Drew Conway
                                       _________________________________________
                                     Name:  G. Drew Conway
                                     Title: President and Chief Executive
                                            Officer

                               POWER OF ATTORNEY
                               -----------------

     Pursuant to the requirement of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.  Each person whose signature appears
below hereby authorizes and constitutes G. Drew Conway, Richard L. Bugley and
Keith F. Higgins, and each of them singly, his true and lawful attorneys with
full power to them, and each of them singly, to sign for him and in his name in
the capacities indicated below any and all amendments (including post-effective
amendments) to this Registration Statement and to file the same, with exhibits
thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, and he hereby ratifies and
confirms his signature as it may be signed by said attorneys, or any of them, to
any and all such amendments.

Signature                Capacity in Which Signed           Date
---------                ------------------------           ----

/s/ G. Drew Conway       President, Chief Executive          December 9, 1996
---------------------    Officer and Director of the
G. Drew Conway           Company (principal executive 
                         officer)
                                                

/s/ Robert E. Foley      Chief Financial Officer and         December 9, 1996
---------------------    Treasurer (principal financial 
Robert E. Foley          and accounting officer)
                                               

/s/ Paul C. O'Brien      Director                            December 9, 1996
---------------------                                
Paul C. O'Brien          
                        
                 
/s/ Robert P. Badavas    Director                            December 9, 1996 
---------------------     
Robert P. Badavas
                        

                                         5