[1] First played for in the 1882–83 season, shortly after the founding of the Sussex County Football Association in September 1882, the first club to hold the cup was Brighton Rangers.

Other winning teams in the cup's early history were Burgess Hill, Lancing College and Eastbourne.

Horsham is the current holder of the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup, having beaten Hastings United 3-0 in the 2024 final.

At the time Sussex's only professional club, Brighton & Hove Albion tried to enter the competition in 1905 but had to withdraw because of clashing dates.

[2] Albion entered the competition again in 1975-76 following the abolition of the distinction between amateur and professional clubs in the English game.

A crowd of over 7,000, the cup's highest attendance in recent years, saw the 2010–11 season final take place at Brighton's new Falmer Stadium on 16 July 2011.

Beginning in September, the competition proceeds as a knockout tournament throughout its duration, consisting of three rounds, then quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, usually in May.

A system of byes ensures that the highest placed 14 clubs in Sussex enter the competition in the second round.

The Goldstone Ground was known to have hosted the final of the Sussex Senior Cup a record 55 times between 1906 and 1995.