Together with the House of Representatives (DPR), it makes up the Indonesian national legislative body, the Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR).

[3] Under Indonesia's constitution, the authority of the DPD is limited to areas related to regional governments and can only propose and give advice on bills to the DPR.

This is regulated in Article 2 of the constitution, which states that "The MPR consists of members of the DPR plus representatives from regions and groups, according to the rules established by law".

"[5] The International Foundation for Electoral Systems conducted a tracking survey in the Indonesian legislative elections in 2004 which showed that not all voters knew how to vote for candidates for the new Regional Representative Council, or were even aware of its existence.

In political parties, it usually stands for Dewan Pimpinan Daerah (Local Leadership Council) and is seated at each provincial capital.