The administrative centre was the village of Tingnes where Nes Church is located.

[3] The parish of Næs 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 name is identical to the word nes which means "headland".

[6] The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Nes was made up of 23 representatives that were elected to four year terms.