Jülich-Cleves-Berg was established in 1815 from part restored and part newly annexed lands by the Kingdom of Prussia from France's Grand Duchy of Berg.
After the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Vienna restored the Duchy of Cleves to the Kingdom of Prussia, which combined them with the other Rhenish lands restored from France (Prussian Guelders and the Principality of Moers) with the Rhenish lands gained at Vienna — the old Duchy of Jülich and County of Berg along with parts of the Electorate of Cologne and the Free and Hanseatic City of Cologne and some other smaller territories.
On 30 April 1815, Prussian authorities reorganised the states of the kingdom into 10 provinces with the Verordnung wegen verbesserter Einrichtung der Provinzialbehörden (English: Regulation for the establishment of improved provincial authorities), of which Jülich-Cleves-Berg was one.
The province's name was a reference to the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, a former territory of the Holy Roman Empire which contained most of the land.
The provincial president was Frederick, Count of Solms-Laubach.