Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes the city of Nottingham, with Nottingham City Council being a unitary authority, independent from the county council. The county council comprises 66 councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The council's headquarters are at Oak House in Linby on the outskirts of Hucknall. The council has been under Reform UK majority control since the 2025 election.

The council is a constituent member of the East Midlands Combined County Authority.

Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The borough of Nottingham had been a county corporate since 1449 with its own quarter sessions, and Nottingham's independence from the surrounding county was maintained by making it a county borough. The county council was elected by and provided services to the remainder of the county outside the borough of Nottingham. The county council's area was termed the administrative county.^[2]

The first elections to the county council were held on 15 January 1889, with 51 councillors being elected. There were also 17 aldermen chosen by the councillors to serve on the council as well.^[3] The council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at the Shire Hall in Nottingham, the courthouse (built 1770) which served as the meeting place for the quarter sessions. Henry Strutt, Lord Belper, a Liberal Unionist peer, was the first chairman of the council.^[4]

Nottinghamshire was reconstituted in 1974 as a non-metropolitan county by the Local Government Act 1972; the first elections to the reformed council were held in 1973. Whilst previously the City of Nottingham was an independent county borough and therefore not included in the administrative county, the redefined non-metropolitan county included Nottingham for the first time as a non-metropolitan district. The lower tier of local government was reorganised as part of the same reforms. Prior to 1974 it had comprised numerous boroughs, urban districts and rural districts. They were replaced within eight non-metropolitan districts (including Nottingham).^[5] In 1998, Nottingham regained its independence from the county council when the city council was made a unitary authority.^[6]

In 2024 a combined county authority was established covering Nottinghamshire, Nottingham, Derby and Derbyshire, called the East Midlands Combined County Authority. The combined authority is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the East Midlands and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.^[7]

Nottinghamshire County Council provides county-level services such as education, transport, social care, libraries, trading standards and waste management.^[8] District-level services are provided by the area's seven district councils:^[9]

• Ashfield
• Bassetlaw
• Broxtowe
• Gedling
• Mansfield
• Newark and Sherwood
• Rushcliffe

Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.^[10]

The council is a pioneer in the use of technology-based care to keep disabled adults in their own homes. The Technology Enabled Care service was started in 2007. It now uses home sensors to help detect falls, incontinence and unusual patterns in daily habits. It supported 4,600 people in 2024. The system automatically alerts staff at a 24-hour monitoring service. It reduced the costs of services by more than £2.75 million in 2024.^[45]

Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the council has comprised 66 councillors representing 56 electoral divisions, with each division electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[46]