The municipality was established on 1 July 1916 when the southern part of Flakstad municipality was separated to become Moskenes. Initially, Moskenes had a population of 1,306.
On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Flakstad and Moskenes were reunited, this time under the name "Moskenes". Prior to the merger, Moskenes had 2,001 residents and the new municipality of Moskenes had 4,068 residents.
This new municipality did not last long because on 1 January 1976, Flakstad broke away again to once again form a separate municipality. This left Moskenes with 1,705 residents
