The town of Croydon's first local authority was a body of improvement commissioners established in 1829.^[4] They were superseded in 1849 by an elected local board.^[5][6] The town was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1883, after which it was governed by a body formally called the "Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Croydon", generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council.^[7] When elected county councils were established in 1889, Croydon was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services. It was therefore made a county borough, independent from the new Surrey County Council, whilst remaining part of Surrey for judicial and lieutenancy purposes.^[8][9][10]

The larger London Borough of Croydon and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964.^[11] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's two outgoing authorities, being the councils of the County Borough of Croydon and the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.^[12] The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Croydon".^[13]

From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Croydon) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council, Croydon has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.^[14]

Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.^[15]

On 11 November 2020, the council issued a Section 114 Notice, under the Local Government Finance Act 1988, due to its difficult financial position, a de facto declaration of bankruptcy.^[16]

Private Eye magazine named Croydon the most rotten borough in Britain for six years in a row from 2017 to 2022.^[17]

In 2022 the council moved to having a directly elected mayor as its political leader. This followed a petition in 2020 and a referendum in October 2021 in which more than 80% of the votes were in favour of the change.^[18]

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates.^[19] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.^[20]

Some 10,000 people work directly or indirectly for the council, at its main offices at Bernard Weatherill House or in its schools, care homes, housing offices or work depots.^[21]

The council has been under no overall control since the 2022 election, being run by a minority Conservative administration under Jason Perry, the directly elected Mayor of Croydon.^[22]

The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows:^[23]

The council meets at Croydon Town Hall on Katherine Street, which was completed for the old county borough council in 1896.^[30]

The council has its main offices at Bernard Weatherill House on Mint Walk, immediately south of the Town Hall. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 2013 to replace the council's former offices at Taberner House on Park Lane, which was subsequently demolished.^[31]

Since the last boundary changes in 2018 the council has comprised 70 councillors representing 28 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[32] The addition of the directly elected mayor in 2022 means that there are now 71 seats on the council overall. The mayor is also elected every four years, at the same time as the council.^[33]

Notable former councillors include former MPs Andrew Pelling, Vivian Bendall, David Congdon, Geraint Davies and Reg Prentice, London Assembly member Valerie Shawcross, Lord Bowness, John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington (Master of the Rolls) and H.T. Muggeridge, MP and father of Malcolm Muggeridge. The first Mayor of the newly created county borough was Jabez Balfour, later a disgraced Member of Parliament. Former Conservative Director of Campaigning, Gavin Barwell, was a Croydon councillor between 1998 and 2010 and was the MP for Croydon Central from 2010 until 2017.