The program was initially developed as an easy to use tobit estimator—hence the name, LIMited DEPendent variable models.

[1] Econometric Software has continually expanded since the early 1980s and currently has locations in the United States and Australia.

The ongoing development of LIMDEP has been based partly on interaction and feedback from users and from the collaboration of many researchers.

As of November 2024, the LIMDEP website states that "After 35 years of developing and providing pioneering tools for microeconometric analysis, Econometric Software, Inc. is closing its operations."

It also includes a graphical user interface within which all program features can be accessed via menus or command generating dialog boxes.

Estimation involves: The PDF documentation set includes reference guides for the operation, background econometrics, and sample applications.