The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Skjervøy on the island of Skjervøya, where most of the inhabitants live.

[5][6] The large municipality of Skjervøe (later spelled Skjervøy) was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).

[7] On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county.

[9] The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the small island of Skjervøya (Old Norse: Skerføy) since the first Skjervøy Church was built there.

On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Skjervøy.

The official blazon is "Argent, a cormorant head erased sable" (Norwegian: I sølv et svart skarvehode).

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Skjervøy is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms.

The municipality consists of several islands, the major one being Arnøya, with the villages of Årviksand, Akkarvik, and Arnøyhamn.

[36] The other islands include Haukøya, Kågen, Laukøya, Vorterøya, and the northern half of Uløya.

The highest point in the municipality is the 1,229.58-metre (4,034.1 ft) tall mountain Store Kågtinden on the island of Kågen.

[37][38] The Hurtigruten (coastal cruise and cargo ship service) stops at the village of Skjervøy.

There is also a scheduled express ferry operated by Boreal Transport Nord AS with intermediate stops between the village of Skjervøy and the city of Tromsø.