CCA Standards
Our grading criteria represents the absolute benchmark for accuracy and integrity in the trading card hobby.
The Four Sub-Grades
Every card is scored 1–10 on four separate criteria. Each sub-grade is shown on your certificate, and together they determine the overall grade.
Centering
How evenly the picture sits between the card's edges, measured front and back.
Corners
Sharpness, whitening, and structural integrity of all four corners.
Edges
Silvering, chipping, and the smoothness of the factory cut along every edge.
Surface
Scratches, print lines, indentations, gloss, and overall eye appeal. Weighted the heaviest; see below.
Surface Is The Kicker
Every card receives four scores: centering, corners, edges, and surface. We combine them into one final grade, but the four scores are not equal. The surface counts the most, because the face of the card is the first thing anyone looks at.
That means surface damage hurts the most. A single scratch, dent, or print line can pull an otherwise perfect card down a full grade on its own. Sharp corners and clean edges cannot make up for a scratched front.
It does not work in reverse. A flawless surface never pushes the grade higher than the rest of the card deserves. Surface can hold a grade steady or pull it down, but it can never lift it.
There is one more rule: no hiding. The final grade can never sit far above the card's worst score. If one part of the card is bad (badly off-center, a crushed corner, a rough edge), being perfect everywhere else cannot cover for it. How far the grade can climb above that worst score is earned by the rest of the card: about a point and a half normally, and up to three points only when everything else is in a completely different class. If the worst score is the surface, the card earns half a point less, because surface problems always cost the most. A card with one flaw still finishes ahead of a card that is rough all over.
Same Flaw, Different Outcome
The Kicker In Action
Two cards, each perfect except for one attribute with a sub-grade of 5. The card whose flaw is on the surface grades a full point lower.
Cen
5
Cor
10
Edg
10
Surf
10
Grade
7
The 5 sits on centering, so the card earns a 7.
Cen
10
Cor
10
Edg
10
Surf
5
Grade
6
The exact same 5 on the surface grades a 6. Surface flaws always cost more.
The Rest Of The Card Earns Headroom
Two cards sharing the same serious flaw (a sub-grade of 2) but very different everywhere else. The stronger card earns more room above its weak spot.
Cen
2
Cor
10
Edg
10
Surf
10
Grade
5
Pristine everywhere else, so the rest of the card earns it a 5.
Cen
2
Cor
6
Edg
6
Surf
6
Grade
3
Merely decent everywhere else, so the same flaw lands at a 3.
Estimate Your Grade
Adjust the four sub-grades to see how your card might grade if you submitted it today.
Full transparency: this estimator runs the exact same formula our graders use. What you see here is what a real submission gets. Centering is measured digitally from our high-resolution scans against the published centering scale; how we assess corners, edges, and surface is CCA methodology.
Estimated Grade
9
Mint
This is an estimate only. Your card's actual sub-grades and final grade are determined by CCA graders upon inspection.
Centering Is Measured, Not Eyeballed
Every card is scanned front and back at high resolution. We straighten the scan, then measure the width of the border on all four sides, from the edge of the card to the printed frame.
We compare left to right, and top to bottom. Each pair gives a simple ratio, like 60/40. The worse of the two ratios is that side's score.
What earns a front 10: the two borders in a pair need to be close to equal. As long as the bigger border holds 55% or less of the pair (that is the 55/45 on the scale), the front is in gem range. Put simply, the wider border can be about 20% wider than its partner and still make a 10. A front at 54/46 is a 10. A front at 56/44 is not.
The back is scored on the same ladder, one level easier: a back earns a 10 at 60/40 or better, a 9 at 65/35, and so on. Your final centering score is the average of the front score and the back score, so a beautiful front cannot fully hide a badly cut back.
Front thresholds shown. The back uses the same ladder one level easier: 60/40 is a back 10, 65/35 is a back 9, and so on down the scale. Your final centering score is the average of the front and back scores. Landing exactly on a line still earns that grade, and 9.5 is the only half-step.
The Grading Scale
Precision definitions for every service outcome.
Gem Mint
This card looks like it was pulled from a fresh pack by someone wearing gloves. All four corners are perfectly sharp, the picture sits right in the middle, the edges are clean, and the surface is glossy with no scratches at all. The only thing we'll forgive is a tiny mark made by the factory printer, and only if you can barely see it. Centering must be near perfect: 55/45 or better on the front and 60/40 or better on the back.
Mint
Almost perfect. If you studied it under a bright light, you'd find just one tiny thing: a picture sitting a hair off-center, a whisker of a print mark, or a border that isn't perfectly white. To anyone else, it looks brand new.
NM-Mint
At first glance this card looks Mint. Look very closely and you might spot one or two tiny clues it's been around: the faintest touch of wear on a corner, or a border slightly off-white. Still a beautiful, high-end card that shines in any collection.
Near Mint
A great-looking card that's been enjoyed carefully. You have to look closely to find the light wear: a corner that isn't razor sharp, or a little of the original shine gone. From arm's length, it still looks fantastic.
EX-Mint
You can tell this card has been handled, but it was loved gently. There might be a very light scratch you only spot up close, corners just starting to soften, or a little of the factory gloss missing. It still displays really well.
Excellent
A solid card. The corners are starting to round a little, some of the shine has faded, and a few light scratches show up when you look closely, but nothing that spoils how it looks in a binder.
VG-EX
A card with real wear. The corners are gently rounded, the surface shows use, and there may even be one light crease, but everything that makes it a nice card still shows.
Very Good
A well-played card. The corners are rounded, most of the shine is gone, the borders may look a little yellowed, and a crease may be visible. It has clearly been through many hands, but everything is still there.
Good
A card that was played with the way cards were meant to be played with. Expect obvious wear all over: rounded corners, scratches and scuffs, several creases, and colors that have faded or stained. Rough around the edges, but complete and instantly recognizable.
Poor
This card has been through it all. It may have heavy creases that nearly tear through, big stains, serious fading, warping, or even a small piece missing. You can still tell which card it is, and for a survivor like this, that's the whole job.
Designations
Every status that can appear on a CCA certificate, graded or not.
Graded
The item is genuine and has been assigned a numerical grade from 1 to 10 using the criteria above.
Authenticated (AUTH)
CCA certifies the item is genuine but assigns no numerical grade. This is used when a card is altered, has a major defect, or the submitter requested encapsulation without a grade. The applicable grading fee still applies. Any alteration (trimming, recoloring, restoration, or cleaning) is described in the grading notes.
Autographed
The item carries a signature that has been reviewed as part of authentication. Shown as an 'Autographed' badge on the cert.
Do Not Holder (DNH)
The item has been identified but is not eligible for CCA encapsulation, so it is returned raw rather than slabbed. The cert records this so buyers understand why the item was not holdered.
Unable to Authenticate
CCA could not confirm the item is genuine. The item does not receive a grade, and the cert displays a clear notice to collectors.
Lost or Stolen
This is not printed on the label. When an owner reports an item lost or stolen, we flag the certification number so that anyone who looks it up online sees it identified as lost or stolen, helping buyers avoid a compromised item.
Cert Reported
The certification number has been reported (for example a suspected label mismatch or counterfeit) and is under review. The cert surfaces this so it can be checked before a sale.
THE ART OF
EYE APPEAL
Eye appeal is judged on the surface of the card: its gloss, print quality, focus, and freedom from scratches, print lines, and dents. It is the most subjective part of grading and the part collectors respond to first.
Because it matters so much, surface is weighted the heaviest of the four sub-grades. A card with strong structure but a compromised surface will be held back, while a flawless surface is treated as the standard, never a bonus that inflates an otherwise-lower grade.
Surface Note
"Surface is the kicker. A weaker surface can pull an otherwise-high grade down, but a perfect surface will never lift a card beyond what its centering, corners and edges have earned."
Grading Reasons & Notes
When a grade is assigned, graders can attach short reasons that explain the deductions. These appear on your certificate so you know exactly what held a card back.
Graders may also record private, internal observations during review. Those internal notes are used only for quality control and are never shown to customers.
Print Errors & Variants
Factory print errors such as miscuts, missing foil, ink and color errors, and other production anomalies are recognized as their own collectible variants. When a card is a known error, CCA catalogs it separately from the standard card and notes the error on the slab label, so the error variant is clearly identified and can coexist with its normal sibling in our database.
Hand-Cut Cards
We grade cards removed from panels or boxes (Bazooka, Hostess, Strip cards, etc.). To receive a grade, visible borders must be present. If the cut exceeds the border or is severely undersized, it will be labeled as "Authentic" only.
Ungradable Items
CCA will not grade cards that bear evidence of trimming, re-coloring, restoration, tampering, or are of questionable authenticity. If a card is deemed ungradable, applicable fees still apply.