Contributors are listed using real names and, where applicable, may include contributions made under known pseudonyms. As examples, the cover of MAD No. 252 is signed by "Armanli" which, according to "MAD Cover to Cover", is a pseudonym for Doug Webb and Wikipedia is a source for identifying 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 Doug Webb instead of "Armanli" and Steven Soenksen instead of Gris Grimly. Another example is Sam Viviano who has also has been credited under the pseudonym "Jack Syracuse" numerous times in the pages of MAD; all of which are included under Viviano's total on 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. 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.

The twelve Bob (Elliott) & Ray (Goulding) articles that appeared in No. 34-44 and No. 47 were ghostwritten by either Tom Koch (No. 34 to 44) or Vic Cowen (No. 47). However, because Bob & Ray had final script approval on all twelve articles, they are still included in the lists. Similarly, of the ten "Ernie Kovacs' Strangely Believe It" that appeared across six issues of MAD, there is documentation that Mark Marmer co-wrote many of these. However, to date, only three have been specifically been associated with Marmer contributions: No. 33, 37, and 38. Therefore, only those three issues are included on the lists.

In an interview with John Ficarra, it was revealed that over a period of "20-25 years" Lucille Goodyear "wrote all the Alfred quotes" that appeared on the table of contents page. However, because the specific issues and years are unknown, none are included in the lists.

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.

Harold Qwerty and Chic Glitz are credited with the "Cover Idea" for issues No. 258 to 260 and No. 264, but these names are fictitious and represent pseudonyms for the MAD staff. In addition, Reynaldo Cruz is credited with the "Cover Idea" for No. 261. Although Cruz was an accountant for MAD at the time, the cover idea was actually by the MAD staff. Therefore, Qwerty, Glitz, and Cruz are excluded from the lists.

Some contributors are only identified by a single name such as Myron, Rag, Semi, Ziraldo, etc. (i.e., full name unknown) and are included that way on the lists.

The contributors to the Spy vs Spy 50th Anniversary poster in MAD No. 511 and additional figures in the letters column of MAD No. 513 are included (including Presspop, which is the name of a toy company, not an individual artist).

Particularly in the early issues of MAD, the writer of an article is not always identified. These uncredited articles, which include "house" contributions by the editorial staff, are not included in the lists unless the writer is identified through other sources such as contacts with the MAD editorial staff, "MAD Bytes It" CD-ROM, "Totally MAD" CD-ROM, Fred von Bernewitz's "Complete MAD Checklists", "MAD Cover to Cover", "Tales Calculated to Drive You MAD", fanzines such as "The Journal of MADness" and "The MAD Panic", MAD's website, etc. For example, although Harvey Kurtzman left after issue No. 28, "Totally MAD" indicates that the magazine continued to use some of his leftover material over the next several issues (No. 29 to 31). As another example, although not credited in the magazine itself or "MAD Cover to Cover", Nick Meglin was eventually credited for the cover idea for No. 245 at MAD's website here. Long-time editor Albert B. Feldstein undoubtedly had input into many features that appeared in MAD, but his only documented credits are for the "The EC Publisher of the Issue" parody that appeared in issue No. 5 (co-written with William M. Gaines, the publisher's only credit, according to Squa Tront #8), writer for the "Murder the Husband" (originally apppeared in Crime SuspenStories No. 12) half of the "Murder the Story" parody that appeared in issue No. 11 of MAD, spot illustrator for "The Top Ten Bomb Song Hits" from MAD No. 36 (has "AF" intitials), and a self-portrait that appeared with his obituary in MAD No. 528.

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 list for the first appearance of that Fold-In. As another example, Bruce Stark has appeared in seven issues of MAD. However, three of those appearances (No. 114, 124, and 126) simply reprinted art that originally appeared in an earlier issue ("Cliche Movie Script" in No. 111). Other examples: 1. the Dr. Frankenstein illustrations by Will Elder surrounding the title of "MAD's Ink Blot Test" in No. 31 first appeared in issue No. 8; 2. the illustration of Alfred E. Neuman by C.F. Payne on page 7 of No. 535 originally apeared on the cover of MAD No. 392, 3., the "What The Heck is the Difference?" feature uses reprints of the covers of past covers of MAD magazines, 4. "The MAD Vault" features reprinted material from prior issues, and 5. "The Darker Side of The Lighter Side" feature that has also appeared in recent issue of MAD uses reprints of Dave Berg strips that appeared in past issues. Because these items do not contain original artwork, they are not included in the lists. Lastly, three one-panel gags were reprinted in later issues of MAD, two by P.C. Vey (No. 388 reprinted in No. 403 and No. 391 reprinted in No. 484) and one by Tom Cheney (No. 408 reprinted in No. 449). Only the first appearance of these gags are inluded on the lists.

The lists includes colorists where specifically credited to an individual (e.g., Tom Luth) but not for companies (Digital Chameleon). In one case, a letterer that was credited (e.g., Rob Leigh in No, 500) is also included.

Because of sensitivity of timing of events, two contributions made to MAD were pulled at the last minute. First, John Caldwell originally did the cover of MAD No. 411 but it was pulled after the events of 9/11 (replaced with a Mingo image of Afred E. Neuman). Second, Al Jaffee did a Fold-In for MAD No. 521 that was pulled after the shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater (replaced with a reprint of the Fold-In from MAD No. 309). Neither is included in the lists.

None of the College Department reprints (No. 28, 30, and 34) are included since many of the artists are unidentified or illegible. Items that appear in the letters column such as reader submissions, envelopes of the month, reprinted editorial cartoons, etc. are not included.

Photographers (e.g., Irving Schild) and computer artists (e.g., Peter Sun) are included only when the images were created specifically for MAD (e.g., the photograph of Bernard Goetz by A. Tannenbaum in No. 256 is excluded since it was a news wire photo; none of the photo downloards from Dreamstime.com credited to various photographers in MAD are included as the photos were not created specifically for MAD). The photography studio of Swedowsky & Weiss (No. 81) as a single entry. Photographer Manolo Ceron has two credits working with two different studios (Mako Studios in No. 526 and Manolo Studios in No. 537). Jacob (last name unknown) is also credited along with Manolo for the Mako Studios credit in No. 526 and is listed as a separate entry.

On the fake Table of Contents page in MAD No. 452, the spot illustration in the upper right hand corner was illustrated by Charlie Kadau and colored by Nadina Simon. Patrick Merrell designed the MAD Calendars for No. 536 and 542. Although the calendars consist mainly of reprinted illustrations by various artists, Merrell included an original mouse he drew for each calendar. He also confirmed that he drew the illustrations for the "On Public Transportation, Courtesy Counts" fake ad in MAD No. 535. All are included on the lists.

The lists exclude the following poets whose classic poems were not created specifically for MAD, but were accompanied by an art parody: Thayer (No. 6), Poe (No. 9), D'Arcy (No. 10), Longfellow (No. 16, 20, 36), Morris (No. 39), Guest (No. 84), and Gilbert (No. 90).

MAD subscription and related advertisements are also included (hence the relatively large number of contributions by Giuseppe Baggi and a posthumous contribution by Jack Rickard in No. 350), but only for the first and original appearance. For example, the Bill Elder art on the subscription coupon of No. 31 is excluded since it originally appeared in No. 7, but the Elder subscription art in No. 32 is included since it did not previously appear in MAD. As additional examples: the illustration by Tom Bunk for the survey ad in No. 406 is excluded since it first appeared in No. 400, the illustration by Paul Coker, Jr. for the subscription ad in No. 328 is excluded since it first appeared in No. 142, the photo by Lester Krauss for the bust ad in No. 54 is excluded since it first appeared in No. 53, etc. Although uncredited, the "Dan Brown" and "Jeffrey Lozenge" ads in No. 371, 378-382, 480, 493, and 495 were written by Joe Raiola and photographed by Irving Schild and are included in the lists. In addition, the photo subscription ads that appeared in No. 61-77 were all shot in the same afternoon by Lester Krauss. Krauss is credited in No. 61-62, but not the other issues, but those are also included for purposes of the lists. Bill Morrison is included as the uncredited artist for the letters column illustration in MAD No. 1 (2018), but not when the same illustration was included in subsequent issues.

Although it appears that John Putnam drew Marvin in the margins of MAD Nos. 50 and 52-58 (e.g., "Marvin Talks About "Secret Ingredients" in No. 50) and the shelves for many of the paperback ads (e.g., "Do You Lack Shelf-Esteem?" in issue No. 109); none are credited to any artist; therefore, all are excluded. Tom Richmond was the uncredited artist for the subscription ad in the first Burbank issue of MAD (No. 1, 2018). but was credited via other sources and is included on the lists.

The list includes the first appearance of the decorative borders by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder (No. 24 to 30) as well as the decorative logo by Kurtzman (No. 25) which reappears on many early MAD covers. Also included are the decorative borders by Tom Bunk (No. 356, 367), Rick Tulka (No. 357, 365), Sergio Aragones (No. 358, 370), Paul Coker, Jr. (No. 359, 364), John Caldwell (No. 360, 366), Sam Viviano (No. 361), Angelo Torres (No. 362, 369), Al Jaffee (No. 363), and Monte Wolverton (No. 368) as well as the decorative MAD logos by Kelly Freas (No. 55), Norman Mingo (No. 76), Don Martin (No. 97), Al Jaffee (No. 98, 146), Anotonio Prohias (No. 101), Sergio Aragones (No. 102), Dave Berg (No. 105), and Bob Clarke (No. 170).

Spy vs Spy is the final problem area. Varoius artists and writers have contributed to the feature over the years. Most are identified in the original issue they appeared, but there are also numerous uncredited instances (mainly writers). All the credies were subsequently reported when in the reprint compilations Spy vs Spy: The Complete Casebook and Spy vs Spy 2: The Joke and Dagger Files. All credits from those books are included on the lists.