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CGC Cards centering requirements

Read from CGC Cards’ grading scale page. Checked 2026-10-28. Official page.

Grade	Front	Back	As published
Pristine 10	50/50	—	“The centering is 50/50, and the card has flawless color and registration.”
Gem Mint 10	~55/45	75/25	“Centering is not to exceed approximately 55/45, and reverse centering is not to exceed 75/25.”
Mint+ 9.5	—	—	No ratio published; "exceptional centering" at the grader’s discretion.
Mint 9	60/40	90/10	“For sports and non-sports cards, centering must be 60/40 or better for the front of the card, and 90/10 for the back.”
NM/Mint+ 8.5	—	—	No figure published.
NM/Mint 8	65/35	—	“For sports and non-sports cards, centering must be 65/35 or better.”
Near Mint+ 7.5	65/35	—	“For sports and non-sports cards, 65/35 centering is allowed.”
Near Mint 7	70/30	—	“For sports and non-sports cards, centering should be 70/30 or better.”
Ex/NM+ 6.5	—	—	No figure published.
Ex/NM 6	75/25	—	“For sports and non-sports cards, centering may be no worse than 75/25.”
Excellent+ 5.5	—	—	No figure published.
Excellent 5	—	—	No figure published.
VG/Ex+ 4.5	85/15	—	“For sports and non-sports cards, the centering is 85/15, and an extremely noticeable diamond cut is allowed.”
VG/Ex 4	—	—	No figure published.
Very Good+ 3.5	90/10	—	“A Very Good+ card may have 90/10 centering and four rounded corners, but not extreme rounding.”
Very Good 3	—	—	No figure published.
Good 2	—	—	No figure published.
Fair 1.5	—	—	May be miscut.
Poor 1	—	—	No figure published.

“~” is the company’s own “approximately”.

Notes

From Mint 9 down, CGC’s published ratios are stated "for sports and non-sports cards"; its TCG descriptions at those grades give no ratio. The same ladder is the best public guide for TCG.
Mint+ 9.5 has no published ratio: "exceptional centering" can elevate a Mint card at the grader’s discretion, so it is never a centering ceiling here.
What used to be CGC Trading Cards Gem Mint 9.5 is today’s CGC Cards Gem Mint 10.

CGC Cards grading fees

Read from CGC Cards’ Services and Fees page (Collector-member prices). Checked 2026-10-28. Official page · full cost page.

Tier	Fee / card	Max value	Turnaround
Bulk	$17	$500	150 business days	25-card minimum.
Economy	$20	$1,000	90 business days
Standard	$55	$3,000	10 business days
Express	$100	$10,000	5 business days
WalkThrough	$300	$100,000	2 business days
Unlimited Value	$300 + 1% of value	no value cap	2 business days	$300 plus 1% of fair market value.

If CGC judges a card worth more than its tier’s cap, it moves the card up a tier and bills the difference. CGC values cards for tiering as graded examples, not raw.
Turnarounds are CGC’s current estimates in working days, not guarantees. Paid members save 10–20% on grading.

Questions

What centering does CGC require for its top grade?

Pristine 10: 50/50 on the front.

How is centering measured?

Compare the two borders on each axis (left vs right, top vs bottom). A card whose left border is 55% of the left+right total is "55/45". Services use the worse axis.

Does CGC publish back centering figures?

Yes for some grades — see the table.

All services · how to measure centering · 50/50 · 55/45 · 60/40 · 65/35 · 70/30 · 75/25