The State Archives are regional offices of the Ministry for Culture (MiC) and fall under the authority of the General Directorate of Archives (DGA).

Established in each provincial capital, the State Archives are institutionally tasked with preserving, protecting, and promoting the written records produced by State institutions in the execution of their official activities.

The State Archives of Cosenza were established by the archival legislation of November 12, 1818, under the name Provincial Archives of Calabria Citra.
From 1866, it fell under the authority of the Provincial Administration, retaining its original name until it was changed in 1932 to Provincial State Archives. In 1939, it was renamed the State Archives Section, and finally, in 1963, by Presidential Decree of September 30, it became the State Archives.

The subsidiary Branch of the State Archives in Castrovillari was established by Ministerial Decree on April 10, 1959, as a Branch of the State Archives of Cosenza. It was transformed into a full Branch of the State Archives on May 1, 1965, in accordance with Articles 3 and 57 of Presidential Decree no. 1409 of September 30, 1963.