The viceroyalty was established by a decree (ukase) of Catherine II on February 5 [O.S.

[1] The predecessor of Vologda Viceroyalty was Archangelgorod Governorate with the seat in Arkhangelsk.

As with most of other governorates and viceroyalties established in the 1770s–1780s, the establishment of Vologda Viceroyalty was a part of the reform attempting to have a tighter control of local matters by the Russian autocracy.

In terms of the modern political division of Russia, Vologda Viceroyalty in this period comprised the areas of what is currently the greater part of Vologda Oblast, as well as parts of the Komi Republic, Kostroma, Kirov, and Nizhny Novgorod Oblasts.

The administration of the viceroyalty was performed by a namestnik (vice-roy) and controlled by a governor general.