The arrondissement of Lapalisse was created in 1800. The subprefecture was moved to Vichy in 1941.[4] At the January 2017 reorganization of the arrondissements of Allier, it gained 14 communes from the arrondissement of Montluçon and three communes from the arrondissement of Moulins, and it lost one commune to the arrondissement of Moulins.[5]
As a result of the reorganisation of the cantons of France which came into effect in 2015, the borders of the cantons are no longer related to the borders of the arrondissements. The cantons of the arrondissement of Vichy were, as of January 2015:[6]