The village is located on the Appelbach in the North Palatinate Highlands, northwest of the Donnersberg, between Kaiserslautern and Bad Kreuznach.

Gerbach also includes the residential areas Althof, Kahlenbergweiher, Köhlerhof and Schneebergerhof.

From 1798 to 1814, Gerbach belonged to the canton of Kirchheim (also called Kirchheimbolanden) in the department of Donnersberg.

In 1946, the newly formed state of Rhineland-Palatinate incorporated Gerbach, which had been part of the French occupation zone after the Second World War.

In Gerbach there is a primary school that is also responsible for Bayerfeld-Steckweiler, Dielkirchen, St. Alban, Ruppertsecken, and Würzweiler.