The district covered an area of 370 square miles (958 km2)[2] ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels.

On 1 April 2023, the district was abolished and replaced by Somerset Council, a unitary district for the area previously served by Somerset County Council.

[4] The district was formed on 1 April 1974, and was originally known as Yeovil, adopting the South Somerset name in 1985.

The district covered the whole of the Yeovil constituency, and part of Somerton and Frome.

It ran alongside South Somerset and the other district councils in the county until their abolition.