The National Association for Trial Court Administrators (NATCA) was founded in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, and was subsequently registered as a corporation in Denver, Colorado. Six Trial Court Administrators identified the need for a national organization concerned with the administration of justice at the trial court level, and these six charter members were the nucleus around which NATCA was established.

The first annual conference of NATCA was held in Phoenix, Arizona in April, 1966 with a total of twenty court administrators in attendance.

The National Association for Court Administration (NACA) was founded in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois, after attendance by several members of an American Bar Association Traffic Court Program sponsored by Jim Economos. The Association was dedicated to promote efficient management techniques in the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. Later, membership was opened to managers from all levels of the courts. NACA was incorporated in San Diego, California.

The 95 Charter Members held their First Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1968.

The wheels were put in motion to consolidate the two organizations at the annual conference in 1983 in Reno, Nevada, when the two groups voted to establish a Merger Commission to work out the details of consolidating. Representatives of both Associations worked diligently and held several meetings before the final plan was presented and the final vote in favor of combining the two groups was cast in August, 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) was founded in August, 1985 in Fort Worth, Texas, as a result of the consolidation of the National Association of Trial Court Administrators (NATCA) and the National Association for Court Administration (NACA). The first conference was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.