Historically, Poulton-le-Fylde was one of seven ecclesiastical parishes of the Amounderness hundred, an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, with a total area of . The parish included the townships of Poulton, Carleton, Thornton, Hardhorn-With-Newton and Marton. Poulton was governed by a parish council until 1900, when the parish was superseded by Poulton Urban District. Today, with respect to civil parishes, Poulton is unparished. In 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, Poulton Urban District merged with those of Preesall and Thornton-Cleveleys, the municipal borough of Fleetwood and the rural district of Garstang to form the borough of Wyre. The town has the borough council's administrative centre, with its offices in Poulton Civic Centre.