The Corts has its origins in bodies established in the thirteenth century by King James I of Aragon.

[1] The economic needs justified those meetings, and at the beginning of the sixteenth century, a stable institution called the Corts Valencianes had already been established.

[1] Proof of the economic importance of the corts for the crown is that the king promulgated the Furs in exchange for the sum of 48,000, which were paid to him by the city of Valencia, by the cities of the Horta de València which belonged to the clergy and to the nobility, and by the towns of Castelló, Vilafamés, Onda, Llíria, Corbera, Cullera and Gandia.

From that moment, the most important cities always met, while others attended depending on the relevance to them of the subjects being discussed.

For example, in the Corts of Valencia of 1510, the following towns were represented: Ademús, Alacant, Alcoi, Alpuente, Alzira, Biar, Bocairent, Borriana, Cabdet, Castelló, Castielfabib, Cullera, Llíria, Morella, Ontinyent, Orihuela, Penàguila, Peníscola, València, Vila Joiosa, Vila-real, Xàtiva, Xèrica and Xixona.

Finally, after the War of the Spanish Succession and the new decree of 1707, the Kingdom of Valencia and its local rights were abolished.

As of the coming into effect of the Statute of Autonomy, the Corts have operated like a modern representative legislature.

The name originated in the historic Valencian Corts, however previous bodies of that name had different functions representing three institutions: the clergy, the military/nobility and the royal family.

The Statute of Autonomy also states that to be elected, candidates must belong to a list which obtains at least 5% of the total number of votes.