The City of Locust Grove is one of over 500 municipalities in the State of Georgia. Every city, town, or hamlet has a written charter of municipal incorporation approved by the Georgia General Assembly. In Georgia, there is no legal distinction between municipalities incorporated as cities, towns, hamlets, or villages. Locust Grove was incorporated as a city on December 20, 1893 and as of July 2022 consists over over 12 square miles in land area and 10,734 residents.

In addition to a charter of municipal incorporation, all cities must have a municipal charter. This document is the "backbone" of the municipality's governmental structure, corporate boundaries, and governmental powers.  An individual city's governmental powers may vary. Locust Grove's governmental powers include:

• planning, zoning, and land use controls
• appropriation and expenditures
• water and sewer services
• sanitation and stormwater management
• police/public safety
• nuisance abatement/code enforcement
• environmental protection
• street construction and maintenance
• taxation and fee collection

...and many more as authorized or required under the constitution and laws of the State of Georgia