Recording Academy members and record companies enter recordings and music videos released during the eligibility year which they consider worthy of recognition in the OMAA Awards process

Reviewing sessions by more than 220 experts in various Fields are held to ensure that entered recordings meet specific qualifications and have been placed in appropriate Fields such as Jazz, Traditional Pop, Contemporary, Reggae & New Age, among others. The purpose of screenings is not to make artistic or technical judgments about the recordings, but rather to make sure that each entry is eligible and placed in its proper category.

First round ballots are sent to voting members in good dues standing. To help ensure the quality of the voting, members are directed to vote only in their areas of expertise; they may vote in up to ten categories across up to three genre Fields plus the six categories of the General Field (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best New Artist, Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical) Ballots are tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Deloitte.

In Craft categories, final nominations are determined by committees comprised of voting members from all of The Academy, who are actively working the craft they are judging.

After nominations have been determined and announced, Academy voting members and fan favourite vote in up to ten categories across up to three Fields in the genre Fields plus the four categories of the General Field to determine the winners. To ensure the quality of voting, fans are directed to vote only in those Fields in which they are peers of the nominees.

Ballots are tabulated by the committee. After vote tabulation, OMAA winners are announced at the OMAA Awards ceremony. The recording with the most votes in a category wins, at least With a minimum of100 votes to win each category nominees receive certificate of nomination.