The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the ways in which municipal-service relations arise. On the one hand, municipal employees are subject to labor legislation and, in particular, the provisions of the Labor Code, which establish the grounds for the emergence of labor legal relations (Articles 16–19.1). On the other hand, firstly, these provisions must be consistent with the peculiarities of the legal regulation of the municipal service, provided for by special norms, which, as shown in the article, is not always complete without various enforcement difficulties and problems. Secondly, there are undoubtedly special methods and procedures for the formation of the personnel composition of the municipal service (for example, appointment from the personnel reserve, etc.). Based on the analysis of the relevant mechanisms for the emergence of municipal-official relations, the author notes a number of defects in the current legislation and proposes specific ways to eliminate them.