How to submit cards to PSA for grading

PSA’s steps, in order, from its pricing page, FAQ, Shipping Guide and Backlog Tracker as read on November 2, 2026, plus one check you can do at home before you send: centering, against PSA’s grading standards as read on October 28, 2026. Each step links to the PSA page it comes from. PSA changes its process from time to time; where its pages differ from this one, PSA’s pages win.

1. Before you send: measure what you can

PSA first checks that a card is authentic, then grades it on a 1–10 scale and seals it in a tamper-evident holder (PSA’s grading page). Centering is the part of PSA’s standards that comes with published numbers, so it is the part you can check from a photo before you send: PSA’s grading standards, read on 2026-10-28, give ~55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the back for a GEM-MT 10 (PSA 10 centering, every PSA grade). PSA gives a 5% leeway on the front centering minimum for cards that grade PSA 7 or better, and says a small variance may be permitted on occasion, at the grader’s sole discretion, based on the card’s overall eye appeal. Corners, edges and surface are graded too, so a measurement is a check, not a grade: is it worth grading?

2. Choose the service level by value

You choose each card’s service level by its Max Insured Value: your own estimate of what the card will be worth once graded, which PSA also uses as the card’s maximum value for shipping insurance and for a claim while it is at PSA. In PSA’s Assisted Submission flow PSA assigns the level from the card’s estimated value instead, and only Classic Submission lets you adjust the coverage. If PSA finds after grading that a card is worth more than its tier’s Max Insured Value, it upgrades that card’s service level, not the whole order, and asks you to pay the difference in service-level price and shipping charges; PSA says the grade is not affected. PSA does not appraise cards: it points to its price guide, auction results and dealers (PSA FAQ). More on choosing PSA’s tier by declared value.

Per card before shipping, as published on 2026-11-02 (PSA’s pricing). Turnaround is PSA’s estimate in business days. PSA posts its reopening updates on its Backlog Tracker. PSA grading cost has the notes and recent changes.

3. Fill in the submission online

Start the submission in PSA’s Online Submission Center on psacard.com or in the PSA app, then print the submission form. PSA needs a separate submission, with its own form and charges, for each service level, holder size and type of submission; several can travel in one box, but PSA ships them back separately. A card that fails PSA’s checks is still charged. PSA also takes submissions at its booth at some trade shows, listed on its show schedule (PSA FAQ).

PSA says a few items may be submitted as a non-member and that you are not required to join its Collectors Club; for many items it points to the Club, a paid annual membership with member-only service levels and grading specials.

4. Pack the cards PSA’s way

1. Each card in a clear penny sleeve. PSA says solid or opaque sleeves cause delays.
2. Each sleeved card in a semi-rigid holder, 3 5/16 × 4 7/8 inches for standard cards, both sides visible. No top-loaders, tape, pull tabs or sticky notes.
3. The cards stacked in the exact order of the submission form, item 1 on top.
4. The stack between two cardboard dividers with two or three rubber bands: tight enough to stop it shifting, loose enough not to damage the cards.
5. The stack wrapped in packing material, in a new box, with the gaps filled.
6. The printed submission form in the box; several submissions each bundled separately.
7. Every seam sealed with packing tape, not painter’s tape, Scotch tape or reused tape.
8. The tracking label ID from the confirmation page on the outside of the box, with its barcodes fully visible; PSA says skipping this can delay order entry.
9. The shipping label stuck directly on the box, not in a label pouch, addressed to the right PSA location.

From PSA’s Shipping Guide, which also lists the address for each carrier.

5. Ship it, and insure it yourself

After checkout PSA’s confirmation email carries the shipping label two ways: a QR code that a FedEx employee scans to print the label at FedEx, or a link to print it at home (a package with a label you printed yourself can go in a FedEx Drop Box). The label is good for 30 days after checkout; if FedEx has not received the package by then, PSA cancels the order. Shipping is charged when FedEx scans the package. You pay shipping both ways, and PSA does not insure the package on its way in: it says insuring it is up to you (PSA FAQ).

6. Track, pay, and choose where each card goes

PSA emails when the package is delivered, when the order is entered, when label descriptions are ready to review, when grades are available and when it ships. PSA’s pricing page says its turnaround estimates are not guaranteed and can change without notice; for the main tiers they start when the order is received and scanned in at PSA, and for the Premium tiers once the order is entered into the grading system, so time in the post comes on top. PSA asks for 3–7 business days of grace before you chase a late order. PSA charges for the order when grading is complete and shows the grades once it is paid. Then, card by card, you choose: ship it back (domestic return packages go out under PSA’s insurance and need a signature), keep it in the PSA Vault, or sell it on eBay through PSA (PSA FAQ).

Before you fill in the form: measure each card and get the verdict, $3/month →

Questions

How do I submit cards to PSA?

Fill in a submission online (PSA’s Online Submission Center or the PSA app), choosing the service level by each card’s value, with a separate submission for each service level; print the submission form; pack the cards the way PSA’s Shipping Guide shows; and ship the box with the form inside. PSA charges the grading fees once the order is complete. These are PSA’s steps as read on November 2, 2026.

Do I need a PSA membership to submit cards?

No. PSA says you are not required to join its Collectors Club and that a few items may be submitted as a non-member; the paid annual membership adds member-only service levels and grading specials.

Does PSA want top-loaders or semi-rigid holders?

Semi-rigid holders. PSA’s Shipping Guide asks for each card in a clear penny sleeve inside a semi-rigid holder (3 5/16 × 4 7/8 inches for standard cards) and says not to use top-loaders, tape, pull tabs or sticky notes.

Which PSA tier should I choose?

The one whose Max Insured Value covers what the card will be worth once graded. The lowest-priced tier not under a pause notice on PSA’s public pricing page, as published on 2026-11-02, was Standard ($59.99) for cards up to $1,000. Value ($39.99, cards up to $500) was listed under a notice headed “Value Services Are Temporarily Paused”; check PSA’s page before you send. If PSA finds after grading that a card is worth more than its tier’s Max Insured Value, PSA says it upgrades that card’s service level (not the whole order) and asks you to pay the difference in service-level price and shipping charges.

When does PSA’s turnaround start?

PSA says its estimates are not guaranteed and can change without notice. For the main tiers they start when the order is received and scanned in at PSA (for the Premium tiers, once it is entered into the grading system), so time in the post comes on top.

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