Narrative:

ZZZ had terrible weather. We were already hours late when our aircraft arrived. The previous crew wrote up wing anti- ice not working. Outstation maintenance arrived; and dispatch and I determined that we could depart with a MEL (minimum equipment list) that allows us to fly in icing conditions. MEL was very complex and confusing. It required us to start a [B737] max 8 with an air cart and start the number 2 engine first. I was concerned about the safety of doing that in the dark and in heavy rain; so I made sure the ground crew and I were completely confident in our procedures. A new release with MEL arrived; logbook was completed by outstation maintenance; and we began the process of starting the number 2 engine. During that time; we also were dealing with three different runway changes at ZZZ (xxl then xyl then xzl) which also meant three different sids (standard instrument departure) and complete re-briefing of takeoff; departure and engine out procedures. Also had to coordinate a crossbleed start. Then; our release expired and we had to get with dispatch to reload the flight. Amid all these distractions; we didn't realize that maintenance never placed a sticker in the flight deck or logbook. I reviewed the logbook after maintenance was done; but totally forgot about the stickers. I guess the major distraction was how the MEL and the maximum 8 aom (aircraft operations manual) differed with each other on this procedure; and lack of clear directions on working with this MEL. Flight was completed in ZZZ1 and we went to the hotel. I think a clearer aom or MEL is needed on this problem.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 MAX Captain reported departing with deferred maintenance and complex MEL; but noticed MEL sticker was not properly applied.

Narrative: ZZZ had terrible weather. We were already hours late when our aircraft arrived. The previous crew wrote up wing anti- ice not working. Outstation Maintenance arrived; and Dispatch and I determined that we could depart with a MEL (Minimum Equipment List) that allows us to fly in icing conditions. MEL was VERY complex and confusing. It required us to start a [B737] Max 8 with an air cart and start the number 2 engine first. I was concerned about the Safety of doing that in the dark and in heavy rain; so I made sure the ground crew and I were completely confident in our procedures. A new release with MEL arrived; logbook was completed by Outstation Maintenance; and we began the process of starting the number 2 engine. During that time; we also were dealing with three different runway changes at ZZZ (XXL then XYL then XZL) which also meant three different SIDS (Standard instrument Departure) and complete re-briefing of takeoff; departure and engine out procedures. Also had to coordinate a crossbleed start. Then; our release expired and we had to get with Dispatch to reload the flight. Amid all these distractions; we didn't realize that Maintenance never placed a sticker in the flight deck or logbook. I reviewed the logbook after Maintenance was done; but totally forgot about the stickers. I guess the major distraction was how the MEL and the MAX 8 AOM (Aircraft Operations Manual) differed with each other on this procedure; and lack of clear directions on working with this MEL. Flight was completed in ZZZ1 and we went to the hotel. I think a clearer AOM or MEL is needed on this problem.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.