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Before You Submit: Grading Submission Checklist

A quick reference for what to buy and do before shipping a card to PSA, CGC, BGS, or SGC.

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This is the checklist we use before shipping a card. PSA-specific requirements are identified below; the remaining steps are CrackorKeep packing recommendations that should be checked against your chosen grader’s current instructions.

Supplies You’ll Need

PSA’s shipping guide says not to use top loaders, tape, pull tabs, or sticky notes on the card holder itself. CGC’s current packaging page also directs submitters to a protective sleeve and semi-rigid holder, then cardboard, rubber bands, packing material, and a sturdy box; CGC labels those instructions as suggestions. For Beckett, SGC, or any other grader, check that company’s current instructions rather than assuming PSA’s rules apply. As CrackorKeep guidance, a semi-rigid holder remains the safer general default when the selected grader permits it.

Painter’s tape is useful around an outer cardboard or Ding Defend-style sandwich when shipping raw cards, but we would not put it directly on a PSA semi-rigid. PSA’s current instructions call for rubber bands around the outer dividers and explicitly say no tape on the holder. If you’re weighing the official kit against buying these separately, we cover that in what card grading supplies you actually need .

Before You Package It

  • Check the card under a single, direct light source, tilted at an angle — this “raking light” trick reveals scratches and surface issues a straight-on look misses.
  • Check the selected grader’s alteration policy before submitting a card that may have been cleaned, pressed, or otherwise altered; as CrackorKeep guidance, do not submit until you understand that risk.
  • Double-check that the declared value and service tier on your submission form actually match what you intend to send.
  • Photograph the front and back before it leaves your hands — useful for your own records and for insurance if anything goes wrong in transit.
  • Not sure a card is even worth the submission fee? Run it through CrackorKeep first for a free estimate before you pay to find out the hard way.

How to Package It

The sequence below follows PSA’s current packing instructions. For another grader, use it as CrackorKeep guidance only and follow that company’s current requirements wherever they differ.

  1. Card goes into the penny sleeve.
  2. Sleeved card goes into the semi-rigid holder. For PSA, do not use a top loader or tape on the holder itself.
  3. Stack your cards in the exact order shown on your submission form.
  4. Sandwich the stack between two flat cardboard dividers or rigid Ding Defend-style outer protectors. Secure the outer sandwich with 2-3 rubber bands — snug enough that nothing shifts, loose enough that the protectors do not bow.
  5. Wrap the secured stack in bubble wrap and place it inside a new, appropriately sized box.
  6. Fill every remaining gap with clean packing paper, foam peanuts, or more bubble wrap. The box should be snug, not crushed, and nothing should move when you give it a gentle shake.
  7. Seal every seam with packing tape, ship with tracking, and insure it for what the cards are actually worth.
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