The awards were established in 1969 and represent a variety of musical styles including rock, pop, hip hop, country, and urban.

The 3rd GMA Dove Awards of 1971 were deemed invalid due to apparent ballot stuffing by the southern gospel group the Blackwood Brothers and that year is still not considered an official awards year by the Gospel Music Association.

[6][non-primary source needed][7][non-primary source needed] Because of the large number of award categories (42 in 2012), and the desire to feature several performances by various artists, only the ones with the most popular interest are presented directly at the televised version of the award ceremony.

The new standards resulted in complaints by some fans and artists after thirteen entries were disqualified as being too secular in the 1999 Dove Awards.

To assist the judges in their determination, the GMA Board has authorized the following content criteria for use in these instances: 'For purposes of GMA Dove Award eligibility, the content of all entries will be based upon the historically orthodox Christian faith contained in or derived from the Holy Bible or apparently prompted and informed by a Christian world-view.