Most of the songs were written by the band in early 2009. They eventually headed to a Malibu studio to work on Congratulations, along with former Spacemen 3 producer Peter Kember, known professionally as Sonic Boom. Vocal contributions from Royal Trux singer Jennifer Herrema were also recorded for the album. Andrew VanWyngarden has stated that the album is influenced by the band's massive rise in popularity since Oracular Spectacular's release. "It's us trying to deal with all the craziness that's been going on since our last album took off. Sometimes it just doesn't feel natural".

Congratulations debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 66,000 copies sold in its first week, marking the best sales week for the band. As of June 2013, it had sold 219,000 copies in the United States. The album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 17,000 copies in its first week.