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Pokémon card grading: centering lines and fees at six graders

Pokémon cards are the standard 63 × 88 mm. Below: the centering each grading company publishes for its Gem Mint and Mint 9 grades (card-game backs where a company publishes them separately), and its cheapest open tier, as read on the dates shown.

Measure your Pokémon card from a photo →

Grader	Gem Mint (front / back)	Mint 9 (front / back)	Cheapest open tier
PSA	GEM-MT 10: ~55/45 / 75/25 back	~60/40 / 90/10 back	Standard $59.99, 70–80 business days (cards up to $1,000)
BGS	Gem Mint 9.5: 55/45 / 60/40 back	55/45 / 70/30 back	Express $79.95, 15 business days
CGC	Gem Mint 10: ~55/45 / 75/25 back	60/40 / 90/10 back	Bulk $17, 150 business days (min 25 cards, cards up to $500) No minimum: Economy $20
SGC	10 Gem: 55/45	60/40	Standard (≤$1,500) $50, 40+ business days (cards up to $1,500)
TAG	Gem Mint 10: ~55/45 / ~65/35 back	~60/40 / ~75/25 back	Value $29.95, 90 business days (min 10 cards) No minimum: Standard $59.95
ACE	Gem Mint 10: under 60/40 / under 60/40 back	under 65/35 / under 70/30 back	Basic ~$23.92 (£18), 30 business days

PSA lines checked 2026-10-28, fees 2026-11-02 · BGS lines checked 2026-07-14, fees 2026-10-15 · CGC lines checked 2026-10-28, fees 2026-10-28 · SGC lines checked 2026-09-17, fees 2026-09-17 · TAG lines checked 2026-10-28, fees 2026-10-28 · ACE lines checked 2026-10-28, fees 2026-10-28. “~” is the company’s own “approximately”; “under” is its “less than”.

What to know for Pokémon cards

The yellow border makes the inner edge easy to find on most cards; on full-art cards whose art runs close to the border colour the app warns you to check the lines instead of guessing.
Back centering counts too: PSA, BGS, CGC, TAG and ACE publish back lines (TAG has separate card-game figures) and SGC publishes none; a Pokémon back is often the worse side.
Measure out of the sleeve when you can; the app finds a card in a penny sleeve or top-loader, but out of the holder is most accurate.

Price lookup covers Pokémon cards: search the card and the raw and graded prices fill in from PriceCharting’s guide.

Worth grading? It pays only when the expected price after grading, minus the fee, beats the raw price. The arithmetic · a sample verdict.

Questions

What centering does a Pokémon card need for a PSA 10?

PSA’s GEM-MT 10 line is ~55/45 on the front (PSA’s “approximately”) and 75/25 on the back, as read on 2026-10-28.

Which grader is most lenient on centering for Pokémon cards?

On the published Gem Mint front lines, ACE (under 60/40). The others: PSA ~55/45, BGS 55/45, CGC ~55/45, SGC 55/45, TAG ~55/45. A lenient line is not an easier grade overall, and each company’s 10 sells for a different price.

What is the cheapest way to grade Pokémon cards?

On the dates checked, the lowest fee is CGC Bulk at $17 (minimum 25 cards, cards up to $500); for a single card, CGC Economy at $20 (cards up to $1,000), then ACE Basic at ~$23.92 (£18). Fees are per card; shipping is extra, and the cheapest fee is not always the best decision.

Where do the prices for Pokémon cards come from?

Price lookup covers Pokémon cards: search the card and the raw and graded prices fill in from PriceCharting’s guide.

Yu-Gi-Oh! card grading · Magic card grading · One Piece card grading · Lorcana card grading · Sports card grading · most lenient grader · all fees · how to check centering