In 1790 The Croatian Corps of the Habsburg Imperial Army under the command of Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus Baron de Vins[5] liberated Lapac as well as some other parts of Croatia in the regions of Kordun and Lika, including Cetingrad, Furjan, Boričevac and Srb, and they again became parts of the Kingdom of Croatia within the Habsburg Monarchy.

Donji Lapac was founded in 1791, in the year the Austro-Ottoman war ended and Eastern Lika was annexed by Habsburg empire as a frontier post.

During the Croatian War of Independence, Donji Lapac was incorporated along with other towns into the unrecognized breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina.

According to the 1991 census, settlement of Donji Lapac had 1,791 inhabitants, which were ethnically declared as this: total: 1,791 According to the 1910 census, settlement of Donji Lapac had 1,140 inhabitants in 2 hamlets, which were linguistically and religiously declared as this: Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs.

[9] Donji Lapac is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia.