Contributors are listed using real names and, where applicable, may include contributions made under known pseudonyms. For example, the cover of MAD No. 252 is signed by "Armanli" which, according to "MAD Cover to Cover", is a pseudonym for Doug Webb. Therefore, the list includes an entry for Doug Webb instead of "Armanli". 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 as a combined "Bob & Ray" entry.

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. 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 except for 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", 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). Long-time editor Albert B. Feldstein undoubtedly had input into many features that appeared in MAD, but his only documented credit (see "Tales of Terror: The EC Companion" by Grant Geissman and Fred von Bernewitz) is for the "The EC Publisher of the Issue" parody that appeared in issue No. 5.

Only first-time contributions, not reprints, are included in the lists. For 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). As another example, the Dr. Frankenstein illustrations by Will Elder surrounding the title of "MAD's Ink Blot Test" in No. 31 are not included since the illustration first appeared in issue No. 8. The "What The Heck is the Difference?" feature that has appeared in recent issues of MAD uses reprints of the covers of past covers of MAD magazines. In addition, "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.

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 events of the Sandy Hook (replaced with a reprint of 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. The lists also do not include colorists (e.g., Marie Severin, Digital Chameleon, Wildstorm, Laura Allred, Ryan Flanders, Matt Milla, Carl Peterson, Alex Sinclair, Tom Luth, etc.) nor letterers (Rob Leigh in No. 500) nor items that appear in the letters column such as reader submissions, envelopes of the month, reprinted editorial cartoons, etc.

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 is listed as one entry. 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. It appears that John Putnam drew the shelves for many of the paperback ads (e.g., "Do You Lack Shelf-Esteem?" in issue No. 109). However, since none are credited to any artist, all are excluded.

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. Only those with the distinctive "Prohias" signature or abbrevation are attributed to him (see MAD Spy vs Spy: The Complete Casebook). The episodes written and/or drawn by Bob Clarke, Don Edwing, George Woodbridge, Dave Manak, Paul Kuper, etc. are also included, where identifiable, as is the reprint of the syndicated Sunday comics Spy vs Spy strip by Don Edwing and Dave Manak in the letters column of No. 419. However, there are instances where the writer is identified by an abbreviation only: "E" (No. 320, does not appear to be Edwing), "S" (No. 324, 333 to 335, 339), "C" (No. 325; does not appear to be Clarke), "b" (No. 326) and "g" (No. 349). These unidentified contributors are excluded from the list.