The legal basis for the activities of the LfV is the Act on the Establishment of a State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which came into force on July 23, 1951. The LfV is an independent higher state authority.

It collects information on anti-constitutional activities and monitors extremist activities in Germany and abroad. In addition, the LfV is involved in tasks in the area of personnel and material secret protection, e.g. in the examination of secret bearers and other persons who wish to work in security-sensitive areas, and it supports authorities and companies in an advisory capacity in the establishment of technical precautions for the protection of information requiring secrecy. Another task is to inform the public about extremist and security-threatening activities. In order to establish the true facts, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution may also use intelligence services in such cases.

The LfV, which is based in Wiesbaden (Konrad-Adenauer-Ring 49), is monitored by the Hessian Ministry of the Interior as part of its official and technical supervision, by the Parliamentary Control Commission and the G 10 Commission of the Hessian State Parliament, by the Hessian Data Protection Commissioner, by the Hessian Court of Auditors and, last but not least, by public media coverage.