Manali is governed locally by the Manali Municipal Council (Nagar Parishad). The council is divided into several wards, with residents electing councilors who then elect a President to oversee local civic administration, sanitation, and urban planning.
At the state level, Manali falls under the Kullu district administration, which is headquartered in the town of Kullu. It is represented in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) by an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Manali constituency. On a national level, it falls under the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency. Public services, including police, fire, and municipal water, are managed jointly by local and state authorities.