The dictionaries were created by the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino of the University of the Philippines, with Virgilio S. Almario, National Artist for Literature and a professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, as editor-in-chief.

The first edition of the UPDF was released in 2001, while the second edition was released on July 29, 2010, coinciding with the centennial of the University of the Philippines.

[1] A third edition is scheduled for release in 2015, and new editions of the UPDF will be released every five years thereafter.

[2] In planning since 1996,[2] the UPDF has been likened to a Filipino version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

[3] An online version also exists for the benefit of overseas Filipinos.