The building's Italian Renaissance design was styled to resemble a palazzo; it features a white plaster exterior, a portico with a balcony on the south side, and a cupola atop the roof.

The building's architecture is unique within the southern Central Valley; in its National Register nomination, the courthouse was called "the best example of the Italian Renaissance revival remaining between Sacramento and Los Angeles".

Exhibits include the Superior Courtroom, a historic schoolroom and blacksmith shop.

The Merced County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 29, 1975.

This article about a property in Merced County, California on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.