[1] The Administration has a dual mandate: first, to disseminate information on the activities and achievements of the United Nations system through the medium of postage stamps, and second, to generate revenue for the organization.

The UNPA stated that the reason for this is that it was not established to provide all postal services, and that its primary function was to issue stamps for philatelic purposes.

[6][7] Finally, on 16 November 1950, the General Assembly formally created the Postal Administration and asked the Secretary-General to appoint a committee to design the first United Nations stamps.

In 1967, the UNPA issued five stamps in Canadian dollar denominations for use at the United Nations pavilion at Expo 1967 in Montreal, Quebec.

In 1968, the UNPA made an agreement with Swiss postal authorities, and on 4 October 1969[9] began to issue stamps in franc denominations for use at the Geneva offices.

In 1981, interest began to diminish after controversy erupted concerning the UNPA's issuance of stamps for the "Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People".

In 1986, the souvenir sheet for the World Federation of United Nations Associations became the first issue to sell fewer than a half-million copies where at least that many were printed in UNPA history.

Due to these lower printing quantities, the stamps from the late 1990s and 2000s are harder to find on the discount postage market.

Most "personalized" sheets are produced for stamp shows and specific UN events with related designs already printed on the tabs.

The editors of the Scott Catalog question whether they were ever actually sold at the UN Post Office in Vienna, a primary criterion for recognizing them as a legitimate postal issue.

A controversy concerns the 2003 purchase by one organization of the UNPA's entire postal archive, including original artwork and artist's proofs.

Also, resale of items at several times their initial values have apparently occurred, thus raising more questions about the entire matter.