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How to Grade Pokemon Cards: A Step-by-Step Guide

September 29, 2026 / 11 min read / MintGrade Team

You pulled something shiny, or found your old binder in a closet, and one question will not leave you alone: should this card live in a slab? Grading can turn a nice card into a much more valuable one. It can also turn a fee into a sad little loss. This guide walks the whole trip, from your kitchen table to a sealed case.

What does it mean to grade a Pokemon card?

Grading is a paid service. You mail a card to a grading company, experts look at it closely, and it comes back sealed in a slab with a number on the label. A card that has not been graded is called "raw."

PSA describes the job in three steps. First, authentication: is the card genuine, and has anyone trimmed or recolored it? Second, grading on its 1 to 10 scale, where 10 is best. Third, encapsulation in a sonically sealed, tamper-evident case with the grade and a certification number on the label.

This guide uses PSA as the main example because its scale is the one most people search for. The same steps work for CGC, Beckett, SGC and TAG, and for sports cards too.

Step 1: Which Pokemon cards should you grade?

Start by being picky. A tier's fee is the same whether the card is a treasure or a bulk common, so grading only makes sense on cards that can earn the fee back.

Good candidates usually tick at least two of these boxes:

• It already sells for real money raw. Vintage holos, 1st Edition cards and the chase cards from newer sets are the usual suspects. Our guide to what Pokemon cards are worth money has a checklist.
• It looks close to perfect. Sharp corners, clean edges, no scratches you can see without trying.
• You want it protected for good. A slab is armor, and some cards are worth grading simply because you love them.

Poor candidates: cards with a crease you can feel, heavy whitening on every edge, or cards worth less than the fee even in a perfect grade.

Step 2: How do you pre-grade a card at home?

Pre-grading is you playing grader before you pay one. It is the step that saves the most money, because it stops you from sending cards that were never going to hit the grade you need.

Here is the kit. None of it is fancy.

• A bright desk lamp, or your phone flashlight
• A 10x jeweler's loupe (CGC's own grading scale talks about how corners look under 10 times magnification, so 10x puts you in the same world)
• A dark, clean cloth or mat to work on
• Clean, dry hands, and penny sleeves ready to go

Hold each card by its edges and check the four things every grader checks. If you want the words behind each grade first, keep our PSA grading scale guide open in another tab. If you are more used to shop terms like Near Mint and Lightly Played, our card condition guide translates them.

Check the centering

Centering is how evenly the border frames the front and back. Measure the border from the card's outer edge to where the printed frame starts on each side, then compare left with right and top with bottom. PSA's standard for a 10 is about 55/45 or better on the front and 75/25 on the back. A 9 allows about 60/40 on the front and 90/10 on the back.

Centering is the one check you can do with pure measurement, so do it first. Our card centering guide shows exactly where to put the lines.

Check the corners

Put each corner under the loupe. You want a crisp point with no white showing through the color. Small white specks (collectors call this "whitening"), soft rounding, dings and tiny bends all pull the grade down. PSA's 10 asks for four perfectly sharp corners, while its 8 allows the slightest fraying at one or two corners.

Check the edges

Run the loupe slowly along all four edges, front and back. On Pokemon cards, the dark blue border on the back shows whitening and tiny chips very clearly, so spend extra time there. A rough or wavy factory cut counts too.

Check the surface

This is where holo cards break hearts. Hold the card under your light and tilt it slowly at a low angle, so the light rakes across the surface. Scratches, print lines, dents, fingerprints and dimples pop out that you would never see face on. PSA's 10 must be free of staining of any kind, with an allowance for a slight printing imperfection only if it does not hurt the card's overall appeal.

What your at-home check suggests

Line up what you found against PSA's own grade descriptions, simplified here:

This is a sorting tool, not a verdict. Graders see thousands of cards and use judgment on eye appeal, so treat your result as a range.

Step 3: Is the card worth grading?

Now do the money math, with honest numbers. Look up recent sold prices for your exact card raw, then for the grade you realistically expect. PSA's Auction Prices Realized page lists sale results for PSA-graded cards, which is a handy place to start.

Then compare:

1. Graded value at the grade you expect (not the grade you dream about)
2. Minus the raw value you could sell it for today
3. Minus the grading fee, shipping both ways, and any selling fees

If the answer is only positive when the card gets a 10, you are making a bet. Sometimes that bet is fine. Just make it on purpose. Our five-minute worth-it check walks through it step by step.

Step 4: Which grading company and tier should you pick?

Every major company grades Pokemon cards. They differ in price, speed, label style and how the market values their slabs. Here is the lay of the land as of September 2026:

"Reported" means we could not confirm the price on the company's own site, so check before you pay. For head-to-head help, see PSA vs CGC for Pokemon cards.

If you go with PSA, the tier sets your price, your wait and the most your card can be worth. PSA lists these tiers as of September 2026 (its lower-priced Value services were marked as temporarily paused):

Pick the tier whose max value covers what the card will be worth after grading, not what it is worth raw. If a card comes back worth more than its tier allows, graders generally move it up a tier and charge the difference. Our PSA grading cost breakdown covers the fees that are easy to miss.

Step 5: How do you pack cards for PSA?

Packing is where a lot of first-timers go wrong, and PSA is specific about it. Here is its shipping guide in plain words:

1. Sleeve each card in a clear penny sleeve. No solid or colored sleeves.
2. Slide it into a semi-rigid holder. For standard cards, PSA lists 3 5/16 by 4 7/8 inches. Collectors often call these card savers. Both sides of the card must stay visible.
3. Skip the extras. No toploaders, tape, pull tabs or sticky notes.
4. Stack in order. Match the exact sequence on your submission form, with item 1 on top.
5. Sandwich the stack between two cardboard pieces and hold it with 2 or 3 rubber bands, snug but not tight.
6. Wrap and box it in a new shipping box, with packing material filling every gap.
7. Add the printed submission form inside the box, then seal every seam with packing tape.
8. Stick the tracking label from your confirmation page on the outside, with the barcode fully visible.

Step 6: How do you submit your cards?

PSA offers two ways in. The Assisted Submission is built for cards and is the easy road for beginners. Classic Submission gives experienced submitters more control.

With Assisted Submission, you scan your cards in the PSA app or type the details on the website. PSA estimates each card's graded value and recommends a service level card by card, which you can accept or change. You then choose where the cards go when they are done: home to you, into PSA's Vault storage, or listed for sale on eBay. Review the order, check out, and either ship the box or hand-deliver it at a local submission event.

MintGrade is made by Viral Labs and is not affiliated with any other app, price guide or grading company named here.

Step 7: How long will you wait?

Turnaround is quoted in business days, so weekends and holidays do not count. As the table shows, PSA's estimates run from 7 to 10 business days on Premier up to 90 to 100 on Standard, and they are estimates, not promises. You can track each step in the PSA app.

Behind the scenes your card goes through the three steps from earlier: authentication, grading, then sealing. Our guide to how long PSA takes has the latest waits by tier.

Step 8: Should you sell or keep the slab?

When the box arrives, check each label and look up the certification number on PSA's cert verification page. It is a quick way to confirm the details match your card.

If you are keeping it, store slabs upright in a box, out of direct sunlight. If you are selling, compare sold prices at your exact grade, since a 9 and a 10 of the same card can sell very differently. The grading scale guide linked above explains why.

Not every card comes back with the number you hoped for. That is normal, and it is exactly why honest pre-grading matters. The MintGrade app, coming soon, will run this at-home check from a single photo and show raw and graded values side by side.

The short version

Pick cards that can earn back the fee. Pre-grade all four areas with a lamp and a loupe. Do the money math before you choose a company and tier. Pack exactly the way PSA asks, submit, and give it time. Then enjoy your slab, or sell it with a clear idea of what it is worth. Either way, you made the call with your eyes open, and that is the whole game.

MintGrade guides explain how grading works and help you decide what to submit. Only a grading company can assign a grade, and prices change daily, so check recent sold listings before you buy, sell or submit.