Rothenbach lies 8 km west of Westerburg. Since 1972 it has belonged to what was then the newly founded Verbandsgemeinde of Westerburg, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in Westerburg.
Rothenbach's Ortsteile are Rothenbach, Obersayn and Himburg.
Politics
The council is made up of 13 council members, including the mayor (Bürgermeister), who were elected in a municipal election on 7 June 2009.