With the implementation of regional autonomy in 2001 the Sonobudoyo State Museum is one of the Technical Implementation Units of the Office within the Culture and Tourism Office, and with a change in organizational structure within the Regional Government of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in early 2004 the State Museum is one of the Technical Implementation Units of the Office. in the Cultural Office of the Special Region of Yogyakarta to date.
Sonobudoyo State Museum was formed based on the Regional Regulation of the Special Region of Yogyakarta Province number 7 of 2002 concerning the Establishment and Organization of Technical Implementation Units at Regional Offices within the Government of the Special Province of Yogyakarta.
The job descriptions and work procedures of the UPTD are regulated in the Decree of the Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta number 161 of 2002 dated 4 November 2002.
At the beginning, the Sonobudoyo Museum was founded, among other things, to collect, preserve and foster cultural heritage which is then presented to the public. In its development, it is then used as an object of research, an object of art connoisseurs as well as a tourist attraction, so that it is hoped that the function of the Museum is not only recreational but also culturally educational regarding the history of human cultural development.
Based on the Decree of the Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta number 90 of 2004 the Cultural Service has the function of exercising the authority of the Regional Government in the field of Culture and the authority for deconcentration and co-administration given by the Government.