[2] The parish of Helleland was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).

During the 1960s there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee.

The first element comes from the dative case of hellir which means "cave" or "cavern".

The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Helleland was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms.