The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality is classified as a Category A municipality by the Municipal Demarcation Board in terms of Section 4 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act 117 of 1998). The Municipality was established on 5 December 2000 through the integration of various municipalities and councils that had previously served the greater Pretoria area and surrounding areas.

The City of Tshwane boundary was further amended on 28 May 2008 through a proclamation in the Government Gazette that incorporated the former Metsweding District Municipality, including Dinokeng tsa Taemane (Cullinan) and Kungwini (Bronkhorstspruit), into the City of Tshwane. The incorporation, which took place in May 2011 after the local government elections, enlarged Tshwane to 6 345 km². Currently, Tshwane stretches almost 121 km from east to west and 108 km from north to south, making it the third-largest city in the world after New York and Tokyo/Yokohama. It also makes up more than 30% of Gauteng, which is 19 055 km² in extent.

The Incorporation of Metsweding District Municipality into the City of Tshwane is in line with the Gauteng Global City Region Strategy which sought to reduce the number of municipalities in Gauteng.