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The High Court of Griqualand West was established on 27 October 1871 (The Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette Extraordinary, No 4386, 28 October 1871, Proclamation No 70, 27 October 1871).

The Master controls the administration of deceased and insolvent estates. In this connection he protects the property rights of creditors and heirs and especially of minors. The acts which mainly control his functions are the Administration of Estates Act, 1965 (Act 66 of 1965), the Insolvency Act, 1936 (Act 24 of 1936), the Companies Act, 1973 (Act 61 of 1973), the Close Corporations Act, 1984 (Act 69 of 1984) and the Trust Property Control Act, 1988 (Act 57 of 1988). He appoints executors and trustees in estates and liquidators of companies. He has in respect of minors to a limited extent the function of upper guardian, especially in regard to alienation of hypothecation of their immovable property. The interests of mentally affected persons and persons under curatorship are also protected by him. The most important task of the Master's office is to check liquidation and distribution accounts. He has wide powers to enforce proper administration by executors, liquidators and trustees.

There were six Master's offices in South Africa prior to 1997, one in each of the provincial capitals and one at Kimberley and also Grahamstown.

The Municipality of Williston, which was formerly known as Amandelboom, was granted municipal regulations on 20 July 1881 in terms of Proclamation No 106 of 1881 under provision of Ordinance No 9 of 1836 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette No 6169, 29 July 1881). The name Amandelboom was changed to Williston in terms of Proclamation No 133 of 9 August 1883 under provision of the Municipal Act of 1882 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette No 6398, 10 August 1883).

In 1994 Williston became part of the Northern Cape Province. It forms part of the Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality, one of seven local municipalities that falls under the Namakwa District Municipality.

The Local Board Area of L’Agulhas was established on 23 January 1946 under the provisions of Section 1 of Ordinance No 11, 1921 in terms of Proclamation No 8, 1946 (Province of the Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette No 2207, 25 January 1946).

The Village Management Board of Agulhas was established on 24 May 1956 under the provisions of Section 2(a) of Ordinance No 11, 1921 and Section 4(a) of Ordinance No 10, 1921 in terms of Proclamation No 99, 1956 (The Province of the Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette No 2816, 1 June 1956).

The Municipality of Agulhas was established with effect from 1 January 1975 under the provisions of section 5(1) and 8(1) of the Municipal Ordinance No 20, 1974 in terms of Proclamation No 414, 1974 (Province of the Cape of Good Hope Extraordinary Official Gazette No 3809, 3 December 1974).

The Agulhas Municipality was abolished with effect from 1 July 1985 under section 8(1) of the Municipal Ordinance, 1974 and section 8(1) of the Divisional Councils Ordinance, 1976 in terms of Proclamation No 197, 1984 and the area situated in the Division of Bredasdorp-Swellendam was declared to be a local area of the said division (Province of the Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette No 4351, 7 December 1984)

The Village Management Board of Umtata was established in terms of Act 29 of 1881.

The Municipality of Umtata was constituted on 21 October 1882 under provision of Proclamation No 192, 1882 in terms of Act No 44 of 1882 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette, No 6303, 27 October 1882).

In 1976, Transkei was granted independence as a bantustan, a nominally independent state not recognised outside of South Africa, and Umtata served as the capital.

On 2 March 2004 Umtata was renamed "Mthatha". Mthatha is the main town of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality.

The Municipality of Uitenhage was created by virtue of a proclamation dated 5 June 1841, published in Government Gazette No 1851 dated 11 June 1841. The municipality was proclaimed under the provisions of Ordinance No 9 of 15 August 1836.

In 1994 Uitenhage became part of the Eastern Cape Province. In 2001 Uitenhage was incorporated with Port Elizabeth and Despatch into the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. On 23 February 2021, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa approved and gazetted the decision to rename Uitenhage to Kariega.

A Justice of the Peace was appointed for the districts of Albany and Somerset on 2 January 1834 (Government Gazette dated 3 January 1834 – Government Advertisement dated 2 January 1834). Fort Beaufort was fixed as the seat of this Justice of the Peace during 1835 (Government Gazette No 1541 dated 3 July 1835, undated Government Advertisement).
A Magistrate’s Court was established at Fort Beaufort on 8 March 1848 (Government Gazette No 2206 dated 9 March 1848, Proclamation dated 8 March 1848).

The Magistrate of Fort Beaufort was also appointed Native Commissioner as from 1 October 1928 (Government Gazette No 1734 dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice No 1865 of 1928).

A magistrate’s court was established at Bedford on 13 August 1857 (Government Gazette No 2851, dated 14 August 1857, Proclamation dated 13 August 1857).

The Magistrate of Bedford was also appointed Native Commissioner by Government Notice No 1865 of 1928, published in Government Gazette No 1734 dated 26 October 1928.

A few weeks after assuming duty as Commander at the Cape, on 12 October 1679, Simon van der Stel undertook a tour of inspection into the interior where he discovered the fertile valley which he called the Stellenbosch (“Stel en Bosch”).

The particularly advantageous conditions for land ownership encouraged settlement in the valley and by May 1680 eight families were already settled there.

To settle disputes between the burghers of the new district over matters like farm boundaries and roads, a Court of Heemraden consisting of four inhabitants of the district, was established on 31 August 1682. The court, which had to report to Government, was an unofficial body without clearly defined powers.

On April 1685 Commissioner HA van Reede arrived at the Cape as the head of a Commission of Enquiry into Company matters. He made numerous changes in the local administration at the Cape. A landdrost was appointed at Stellenbosch who, as chairman of the Heemraden, acted as a court to settle disputes over boundaries, roads, etc and try cases not exceeding the sum of 50 rixdollars. Appeals could be made against decisions of the College of Heemraden except in minor cases and disputes not exceeding 25 guilders. The landdrost’s duties also include social matters.

In 1688 and the subsequent years the white population at the Cape increased as a result of the arrival of the Huguenots who established themselves mainly in the Stellenbosch and Drakenstein district, as the district of Stellenbosch was then known. Since 1697 the Drakenstein area formed an almost separate administrative unit with its own heemraad.

The district of Stellenbosch initially comprised the entire interior of the settlement at the Cape. As the boundaries of the district expanded, a need was felt to establish a new magistracy in the far interior to attend to the needs of the burghers. This resulted in the establishment of the district of Swellendam in August 1745 and the revision of the limits of Stellenbosch and the area of jurisdiction of the Landdrost and Heemraden of Stellenbosch and Drakenstein.

The settlement at the Cape continued to expand and the boundaries of the districts had to be altered continually. In 1803 the settlement consisted of four districts, ie Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet. The wide-spread nature of each district caused inconvenience to the outlying farmers and Commissioner De Mist recommended the subdivision of the existing districts. The district of Stellenbosch was divided in July 1804 whereby a new district named after Governor Tulbagh was created. By September 1804 the arrangements for the division were completed and the boundary between the two districts established.

In 1805 the duties and powers of the Landdrost and Heemraden were clearly defined and matters relating to land, vendue and finance placed within their jurisdiction.

In February 1808 the boundaries of the districts of Tulbagh and Stellenbosch were redefined.

Cape Town first received local self-government in 1839, with the promulgation of a municipal ordinance by the government of the Cape Colony. When it was created, the Cape Town municipality governed only the central part of the city known as the City Bowl, and as the city expanded, new suburbs became new municipalities, until by 1902 there were 10 separate municipalities in the Cape Peninsula. During the 20th century, many of the inner suburban municipalities became unsustainable; in 1913 the first major unification took place when the municipalities of Cape Town, Green Point and Sea Point, Woodstock, Mowbray, Rondebosch, Claremont, Maitland, and Kalk Bay were unified to create the first City of Cape Town. In 1927 the municipality of Wynberg was also merged with Cape Town, with the result that all of the Southern Suburbs were incorporated into the City.

Many new municipalities were established during the 20th century. Durbanville achieved municipal status in 1901, Goodwood in 1938, Parow in 1939, Bellville and Fish Hoek in 1940, Pinelands in 1948, Kuils River in 1950, Milnerton in 1955, Kraaifontein in 1957, Gordon's Bay in 1961, Brackenfell in 1970. In 1979 Bellville was upgraded to city status. The areas not included in a municipality were governed by divisional councils. Most of the Cape metropolitan area fell under the Divisional Council of the Cape, while the eastern parts around Brackenfell, Kuils River and the Helderberg area formed part of the Divisional Council of Stellenbosch, and an area in the northeast around Kraaifontein formed part of the Divisional Council of Paarl.

In earlier years the right to vote in local elections was not restricted by race, but the policies of the apartheid government aimed for complete segregation of local government. A 1962 amendment to the Group Areas Act introduced management committees for the areas designated for Coloured and Indian residents. These management committees were subordinate to the existing local authority – either a municipality or the divisional council. From 1972 no new non-white voters could be registered as voters for municipal or divisional councils, and existing non-white voters lost their voting rights when a management committee was established for the area where they lived.

In 1982 the Black Local Authorities Act created elected town councils for black communities. Five such councils were established in the Cape metropolitan areas. They were generally regarded as under-resourced and unsustainable, and were opposed by the United Democratic Front and other civic organisations. Turnout in BLA elections was very low.

In 1987 the divisional councils of the Cape, Paarl and Stellenbosch were dissolved, and the Western Cape Regional Services Council (RSC) was created in their place. The RSC councils were indirectly elected, consisting of representatives nominated by all the local authorities within its area, including municipalities, management committees and town councils. The Cape Rural Council represented the rural areas of the RSC that were not included in any local authority. Also in 1987, an act of the House of Assembly allowed the creation of local councils for white communities in peri-urban areas.

Thus at the end of apartheid in 1994, there were over 50 different local authorities in existence in the metropolitan area, listed below.
• Western Cape Regional Services Council (RSC)
o Cape Rural Council
• Cities
o City of Cape Town
o City of Bellville
• Municipalities
o Brackenfell Municipality
o Durbanville Municipality
o Fish Hoek Municipality
o Goodwood Municipality
o Gordon's Bay Municipality
o Kraaifontein Municipality
o Kuils River Municipality
o Milnerton Municipality
o Parow Municipality
o Pinelands Municipality
o Simon's Town Municipality
o Somerset West Municipality
o Strand Municipality
• Management Committees (indicating in brackets the local authority to which they were subordinated)
o Athlone and District MC (City of Cape Town)
o Atlantis MC (RSC)
o Belhar MC (RSC)
o Cravenby MC (RSC)
o Elsie's River MC (RSC)
o Grassy Park MC (RSC)
o Kensington MC (City of Cape Town)
o Kraaifontein MC (Kraaifontein Municipality)
o Macassar MC (RSC)
o Matroosfontein/Nooitgedacht MC (RSC)
o Melton Rose/Blue Downs/Delft MC (RSC)
o Mitchells Plain MC (City of Cape Town)
o Morningstar MC (Durbanville Municipality)
o Ocean View MC (RSC)
o Proteaville MC (City of Bellville)
o Ravensmead MC (Parow Municipality)
o Retreat/Steenberg MC (City of Cape Town)
o Rylands Estate MC (City of Cape Town)
o Sarepta MC (Kuils River Municipality)
o Schotschekloof MC (City of Cape Town)
o Scottsdene MC (RSC)
o Sir Lowry's Pass MC (RSC)
o Strand MC (Strand Municipality)
o Strandfontein MC (City of Cape Town)
o Temperance Town MC (Gordon's Bay Municipality)
o Wittebome/Wynberg MC (City of Cape Town)
o Woodstock/Walmer Estate/Salt River MC (City of Cape Town)
• Town Councils
o Crossroads Town Council
o iKapa Town Council (Langa, Gugulethu and Nyanga)
o Lingelethu West Town Council (Khayelitsha)
o Lwandle Town Council
o Mfuleni Town Council
• Local Councils
o Atlantis Industria LC
o Bloubergstrand LC
o Constantia LC
o Kommetjie LC
o Llandudno LC
o Melkbosstrand LC
o Noordhoek LC
o Ottery East LC
o Scarborough LC
• Mamre Board of Management

As part of the post-1994 reforms, municipal government experienced a complete overhaul. The existing local authorities, political parties, ratepayers' organisations, and community organisations were brought together into a negotiating forum. This forum agreed on the creation of a two-level local government system consisting of multiple transitional metropolitan substructures (TMSs), brought together in a transitional metropolitan council named the Cape Metropolitan Council (CMC). The CMC would replace the Regional Services Council and take over its responsibilities; it would also be responsible for metro-level planning and co-ordination, improving service delivery in disadvantaged areas, and cross-subsidization of poorer areas with revenue from affluent areas. Initially, in a period called the "pre-interim phase", the existing local authorities would become TMSs but their councils would be replaced by councillors nominated by the members of the negotiating forum. This agreement came into effect, and the pre-interim phase began, on 1 February 1995.

The second phase of the transformation, known as the "interim phase" began on 29 May 1996 when local elections were held. The pre-interim TMSs were dissolved, and six new TMSs were established covering the whole metropolitan area: City of Cape Town (Central), City of Tygerberg, South Peninsula Municipality, Blaauwberg Municipality, Oostenberg Municipality, and Helderberg Municipality. The Cape Metropolitan Council continued with its coordinating functions.

In 1998 Parliament enacted legislation (the Municipal Structures Act) determining the final form of local government in post-apartheid South Africa. This legislation determined that metropolitan areas would be governed by unified metropolitan municipalities. Local elections were held on 5 December 2000; the Cape Metropolitan Council and the six interim TMSs were dissolved and replaced by the unified City of Cape Town. It is for this reason that the City of Cape Town is sometimes referred to as the "Unicity". At the time of the 2000 election the northern boundary of the metropolitan area was also extended to include Philadelphia, Klipheuwel, and the surrounding farmland.

The current municipality covers Cape Point in the south-west, Somerset West in the south-east, and Atlantis in the north, and includes Robben Island.

On 2 January 1880 the magistrate of Richmond was appointed to hold a periodical court at the newly established town of Britstown. On 13 August 1886 a special justice of the peace took over the duties of the magistrate of Richmond.

On 7 November 1891 a resident magistrate was appointed at Britstown. The magistrate held a periodical court at De Aar from 1896.