The series of games are played during the summer and autumn months, with the county final currently being played in either Austin Stack Park or FitzGerald Stadium in October. Initially played as a knock-out competition, the championship currently uses a double elimination format whereby each team is guaranteed at least two games.
The Kerry County Championship is an integral part of the wider Munster Senior Club Football Championship. The winners of the Kerry county final join the champion clubs of the other five counties to contest the provincial championship. The winning team of the county championship also has the honour of naming the captain of the Kerry senior team for the following year.
The title has been won at least once by 22 different teams. The all-time record-holders are Austin Stacks and Dr. Crokes who have both won a total of 13 titles.
East Kerry are the title-holders, defeating Mid Kerry by 2-10 to 0-15 in the 2023 final.
The 8 clubs and 8 divisional teams are divided into four groups of four. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed three group games. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the group stage table by points gained, then scoring difference and then their head-to-head record. The top two teams in each group qualify for the quarter-finals.
Knockout stage
Quarter-finals: The 4 group winners and 4 group runners-up contest this round. A group winner will play a group runner-up of another group. The two winners from these two games advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners contest this round. The two winners from these two games advance to the final.
Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.