The Board undertakes three broad types of municipal outer boundary determinations where the criteria are applied differentially and the data requirement and motivation also vary.
This re-determination entails a small scale boundary adjustment and/or alignment with a minor impact on the geographic area, and with a negligible or no impact on the number of voters, and on the capacity of the affected municipalities. The outcome of this redetermination is the correction and/or alignment of a municipal boundary with physical or natural features such as roads, rivers, and mountains; or cadastral boundaries (parent farm boundaries) or a combination of the two. Alignment to cadastre may be necessary where, for purposes of property valuations and rates, a property has to be under the jurisdiction of one municipality rather than being split between two or more municipal areas.

This is a medium scale boundary re-determination that may impact on a sizable geographic area, and number of voters in one or all the municipalities affected. This type of determination may impact on ward arrangements but will not, or will not materially, impact on the capacities of the affected municipalities to deliver services. The outcome of this type of boundary adjustment is the correction of boundary anomalies that affect service delivery, and to promote integrated communities and economies.

This type of re-determination entails a major and large scale municipal boundary re-determination which will have a significant impact on the geographic areas, the number of voters, and the capacities of the affected municipalities. The outcome of this type of re-determination includes the merging of adjacent municipalities; the splitting of municipal areas to create municipal areas which will result in that the responsible MEC will need to disestablish an existing municipality or municipalities, and establish a new municipality or municipalities. Also included in this type is the categorisation of metropolitan municipalities with or without boundary changes. This type of request requires extensive motivation and a significant amount of supporting evidence. Where a request is submitted for the categorisation of a municipality into a metropolitan municipality, such a request must satisfy the criteria outlined in Section 2 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, in addition to the criteria set out in section 24 and 25 of the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, 1998. Attention is also drawn to the fact that the MDB may determine that an area must have a category A (metropolitan) municipality, only after consultation with the National Minister responsible for local government, the MEC for local government in the provinces concerned, and SALGA.