Only first-time contributions, not reprinted material from prior issues, are included in the lists. As an example, the Fold-In by Al Jaffee in MAD No. 8 (2019) is a reprint of the one that appeared in MAD No. 153 and is only included in the overall and New York lists for the first appearance of that Fold-In but not included in the California list.

Contributors are listed using real names and, where applicable, may include contributions made under known pseudonyms. As an example, Wikipedia identifies Steven Soenksen as the real name of the pseudonym Gris Grimly for the Wisenheim Museum page in MAD No. 4 (2018). Therefore, the list includes an entry for Steven Soenksen instead of Gris Grimly. As another example, a gag for "Naughty Comics" in MAD No. 6 (2019), was credited to "Phil T. Meinde", but was actually by Al Jaffee, so Meinde is not included in the lists. R. Wilcox Deckert in MAD No. 5 (2019) is a pseudonym for Bill Morrison (the artwork for "The Useless Submarine" is the same style as his graphic novel "The Yellow Submarine"). A gag for "Naughty Comics" in MAD No. 6 (2019), was credited to "Phil T. Meinde", but was actually by Al Jaffee, so Meinde is not included in the lists. At least two other contributors have used pseudonyms in the California issues of MAD (By A Person and Alejandro Rivas) and those contributions are listed under their real names rather than the pseudonyms. The colorist in MAD No. 2 (2018) for "A MAD Look at Hollywood" is identified as "Vincent Vidi Vici" which appears to be a fictional name, but the real name is unknown.

Although uncredited in MAD No. 1 (2018), other sources document that Doug Thomson and Suzy Hutchinson designed the new logo and Bill Morrison and Michael C. Falk created the Alfred bombarded by letters illustration on the first page of the letters column. All are included on the lists for the first appearances of these graphics.