The Council was created on 11 April 1984, as the successor to the Subcommittee for Heraldry or Subcommissie Heraldiek, established in 1978.

Its prime task was to supervise the granting of a coat of arms and a flag to all municipalities of the Flemish Region.

Following the reorganization of the Belgian provinces, the council's field of action was extended to provincial arms and flags in 1994.

The Royal Decree of 6 February 1837 provided for the recognition of arms used by local governments during the Ancien Régime.

[3] Broadly speaking these figures reflected the relative degree of urbanization and the long and strong tradition of local self-government in the erstwhile feudal entities of Flanders and Brabant.

Following a major overhaul of local government, the number of Belgian municipalities was reduced from 2359 to 596 on 1 January 1977.

It considers the symbolism and design of the arms and flags, bearing in mind historical precedents.

In the process care was taken to rectify errors from the past, execute drawings in a clear style and standardize the blazon.

While municipal coats of arms have to be in keeping with local historic and heraldic heritage, considerably more creativity is allowed in the design of flags.

The decree furthermore stated that provincial arms would be augmented with supporters and surmounted by a coronet or bonnet corresponding to the historic titles to which their names referred.