The leader of the council is Conservative councillor Carl Les, appointed in 2021, and the Chief Executive is Richard Flinton.

On 1 April 2023, the districts were abolished and the county council took on their responsibilities, becoming a unitary authority.

[5][6] The non-metropolitan county originally had eight districts: York, Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.

[8] A further process of reorganisation began in October 2020, when the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government invited the councils in the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the City of York Council to submit proposals for reorganisation into unitary areas.

Following a public consultation, in July 2021 the Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, announced that the county council's proposal would be taken forward and the first elections for the new unitary authority would be held in May 2022.

[14] Most of the non-metropolitan county is covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government.

The council has been under no overall control since June 2023, being led by a Conservative minority administration with support from three of the independent councillors.

[23] It transferred to the North Yorkshire County Council on local government reorganisation in 1974.