The league was formed in 1947 as Schleswig-Holstein-Liga by thirty clubs in three divisions of ten, in the newly created state of Schleswig-Holstein which was then part of the British occupation zone in Germany.

Promotion had to be achieved through a play-off with teams from the Amateurligen of Lower Saxony, Bremen and Hamburg.

For the Verbandsliga Schleswig-Holstein, this meant a further slip, now to tier five, but also, for the first time in its history, direct promotion for the league champion and, in some seasons, even the runners-up.

The 1999-2000 season saw another league system change with the reduction of numbers of Regionalligen, this however had no effect on the Verbandsliga.

The four northern German states were then the only regions without an Oberliga and the five Verbandsligen sit right below the Regionalliga Nord, parallel to the two NOFV-Oberligen.

At the end of the 2007-08 season, the five winners of the northern Verbandsligen played with the sixth placed team from the Oberliga Nord for one last spot in the Regionalliga.

[3] In the future seasons, promotion for the Schleswig-Holstein champion will only be available through a set of play-off matches with the league winners from Hamburg and Bremen.

[4] In April 2020, the SHFV curtailed the remainder of the 2019–20 season during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Germany[5] and determined the final standings using points-per-game averages.

The complete list of clubs and placings in the league since elevation to Oberliga status (2008–present):[10] 1 Previously known as ETSV Weiche.