The PYM is primarily affiliated with the Friends General Conference[1] and is a member of the National Council of Churches.

[3] By 1707, it had published its own "book of discipline", the standards and practices by which Friends worship, conduct business, and relate to one another and to the world.

The Yearly Meeting is one of the principal tenants of Friends Center, a LEED-certified building in the central part of Philadelphia.

Friends named to council positions serve for the terms defined in the Yearly Meeting's governance handbook.

These meetings, generally multi-day and residential, take place during the summer months at locations (usually college or universities with dormitories) within the four-state area.

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting regularly reaffirms its commitment to the practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion[34] in its relations with Friends and with society.

George School and Swarthmore College were founded to provide education for the Hicksite students.

They may be governed by members of the Society of Friends, but they are structurally independent of the Monthly and Yearly Meetings.