Vijayawada is administered by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), which was established as a municipality in 1888 and upgraded to a corporation in 1981. The VMC is responsible for civic infrastructure, public health, sanitation, water supply, and urban planning. It is headed by a Mayor, who is elected from among the corporators representing the city's various municipal wards, while executive powers are wielded by an IAS-appointed Municipal Commissioner.
Administratively, Vijayawada serves as the headquarters of the NTR district, a district carved out of the former Krishna district in 2022 and named after the legendary actor and former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao.
Law and order are maintained by the Vijayawada Police Commissionerate. The city represents crucial assembly constituencies in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and forms a key parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha.
