In 1883, the Government set up a Royal Commission to find out more about crofting. The Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 which established rights for crofters was passed as a result. The Act gave crofters the rights to a reasonable rent, to pass their croft on to their families and if the crofter decided to give up the tenancy of his croft, the Act also stated that they would have to be paid for any improvements made to it. It also set up a Crofters Commission as a forerunner of the modern organisation, which administered the Crofters Acts until it was superseded by the Scottish Land Court in 1912 (under the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 1911).

The present day Crofters Commission was reconstituted under the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955 following on the recommendations of the Taylor Commission of Enquiry into crofting conditions in Scotland.