In December 1858, San José de Ocoa was made a municipality of the old province of Santo Domingo; in 1895, it was changed to a municipality of the Azua province. With the creation of the Peravia, San José de Ocoa was a municipality of that new province. Then, on 6 September 2000, San José de Ocoa was made a new province with the northern half of the Peravia province and with the municipalities of San José de Ocoa, Rancho Arriba and Sabana Larga, and the municipal district of La Ciénaga.