Like the other 26 regional districts in the province, the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) derives its authority to govern primarily under the Local Government Act and the Community Charter of British Columbia.

Regional districts were created to ensure that all residents in British Columbia have access to an elected, representative form of local government. Like its municipal counterparts, regional districts deliver a wide variety of services to its citizens.  The Fraser Valley Regional District delivers over 100 separate services throughout the region. The range of services that the Fraser Valley Regional District delivers is extensive - services like water supply, sewer, street lighting, garbage collection and fire protection are delivered on a very localized level, while other services such as E911, regional parks, mosquito control or solid waste management are delivered on a regional level. Regional districts deliver services on a user-pay basis and only those individuals who benefit from the service pay for the service. 

Operating as more of a federation of regional stakeholders, the Fraser Valley Regional District is governed by a 21-member board of directors, which is equivalent to a municipal council. 

The FVRD board is presided over by the chair of the board and is comprised of the following members:

• eight electoral area representatives respresenting the unincorporated areas of the region,
• five municipal directors from the City of Abbotsford,
• three municipal directors from the City of Chilliwack,
• two municipal directors from the District of Mission,
• one municipal director from the District of Kent,
• one municipal director from the District of Hope, and
• one municipal director from the Village of Harrison Hot Springs.

Municipal directors on the board are appointed at will by their respective municipal councils. Electoral area directors are elected to office for a three-year term at each general local election. 

Like a municipal council, the regional board establishes policy, sets short- and long-term strategic goals and objectives, creates the vision for the region and is responsive to its constituency at large. Regional district management and staff are responsible for implementing the board's policy directives.

Local Government Act Excerpt
The following outlines the purposes of the Fraser Valley Regional District, as stated by British Columbia’s Local Government Act.

Recognizing that regional districts are an independent, responsible and accountable order of government within their jurisdiction, the purposes of a regional district include:

a. providing good government for its community,
b. providing the services and other things that the board considers are necessary or desirable for all or part of its community,
c.  providing for stewardship of the public assets of its community, and
d. fostering the current and future economic, social and environmental well-being of its community.