"A board of commissioners by the name and style of ‘Commissioners for the Promotion of Uniformity of Legislation in the United States'" was created by the Legislature in 1897 (Chapter 80, Statutes of 1897). The Commissioners were required to "ascertain the best means to effect an assimilation and uniformity in the laws of the States, and to represent the State of California in conventions of like commissions to consider and draft uniform laws to be submitted for the approval and adoption of the several States."

The current Commission on Uniform States Laws was created in 1927 (Chapter 498, Statutes of 1927).  In 2012, the commission was incorporated into the Office of Legislative Counsel (Chapter 46, Statutes of 2012).

The national Uniform Law Commission has been in existence for more than 100 years. It is a nonprofit unincorporated association, comprised of state commissions on uniform laws from each state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first meeting of the national Commission occurred in 1892 in response to a call by the American Bar Association for an organization to work for uniformity in the laws of the then 44 states. By the turn of the century, 32 states had appointed commissioners on uniform laws. By 1905, only Nevada and the Territory of Alaska had not appointed commissioners, and they joined the national Uniform Law Commission in 1911.