How to read a CGC label: grades, colors and codes
What each part of a CGC Cards label means: the grade name, the letter codes, the label colors, the back of the label, and how older CGC and CSG labels read.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
A CGC label tells you four things: what the card is, the grade it got (or a letter code if it got no number), the number that identifies that one card, and, through its color, whether the card is a Pristine 10 or has a witnessed or authenticated autograph. The label inside each holder carries the card’s description, its grade, its certification number and a QR code, and CGC images every card after sealing it.
What does the label tell you?
Read the card description first, then the grade, then the cert number.
- The description. It identifies the exact card, so check it against the card you can see through the slab.
- The grade. A number with a name beside it, such as 8.5 NM/Mint+, or a letter code in place of a number (see below).
- The cert number and barcode. Both are unique to the card.
- Security features. Microprinting, UV ink and holographic foil make the label hard to copy. Our guide to spotting a fake slab covers how to use them.
How do you decode the grade names?
CGC grades on a scale from 1 to 10 with half grades, and every step has a name. There are two 10s. A Pristine 10 is virtually flawless to the naked eye, with 50/50 centering, and the Pristine label is kept for cards that are flawless under 10-times magnification. A Gem Mint 10 is a 10 that misses Pristine on one of the criteria.
Below 10, one rule decodes the half grades: a half grade takes the name of the whole grade below it, plus a plus sign. The one exception is 1.5, which is Fair.
| Whole grade, name and number | Half grade above it, name only |
|---|---|
| Mint 9 | Mint+ |
| NM/Mint 8 | NM/Mint+ |
| Near Mint 7 | Near Mint+ |
| Ex/NM 6 | Ex/NM+ |
| Excellent 5 | Excellent+ |
| VG/Ex 4 | VG/Ex+ |
| Very Good 3 | Very Good+ |
| Good 2 | Good+ |
| Poor 1 | Fair |
So 9.5 reads Mint+, 8.5 reads NM/Mint+, and 1.5 reads Fair. NM stands for Near Mint, Ex for Excellent and VG for Very Good. CGC judges a 9.5 by eye appeal: it is a card whose centering, surface or color lifts it above a Mint 9. From 9 down, CGC’s scale gives centering figures for sports and non-sports cards, and for TCG cards it describes the handling or manufacturing defects that several grades allow. Our checklist before grading compares each grade’s limits with SGC’s.
CGC Cards no longer offers subgrades, so a current label shows one overall grade.
What do AU, AA and ART mean?
One of three letter codes, called designations, takes the place of the number when a card gets no numeric grade:
- AU, Authentic. The card is genuine and unaltered but cannot get a numeric grade, for example because part of the card stock is missing or it is below the minimum size.
- AA, Authentic Altered. The card is genuine but has been altered. Recoloring and trimming are examples.
- ART, Authentic ART. Custom art has been applied to the surface. The card must come from someone with a CGC Artist Account or through a qualified Signature Series submission.
CGC gives mixed answers on altered cards. Its grading scale describes the AA code, and its population report counts AA cards: in its Alpha Magic set, 4 of the 68 Black Lotus slabs it counted were AA, as the report showed on October 12, 2026. But it also says a card altered in any form, artist alterations included, gets no numeric grade and no holder, and elsewhere that it does grade artist alterations, though not a card altered to pass as a rarer version. Ask CGC before you send an altered card.
Some outcomes never reach a label. A card can come back with no grade, for reasons that include Questionable Authenticity for a card that appears counterfeit and Evidence of Tampering/Alteration. CGC does not certify counterfeit cards.
What do the label colors mean?
| Label | When CGC uses it |
|---|---|
| Standard black | The standard label, used too for cards with a manufacturer’s certified autograph unless JSA authentication was requested |
| Gold Pristine 10 | Every card graded Pristine 10; an autographed Pristine 10 gets a variant of it |
| Yellow Signature Series | Autographs a CGC or JSA representative watched being signed |
| CGC x JSA Authentic Autograph | Autographs signed without a CGC or JSA witness that JSA has authenticated, alone or alongside witnessed or manufacturer autographs |
| Custom DC Comics design | An optional design for the CGC or yellow Signature Series label, for $8 on top of the grading fee |
On autographed cards, the autograph gets its own grade from 5 to 10 with no half grades. Below 5, or if the owner asks for no grade, it is marked Authentic. Only cards with two autographs or fewer can get an autograph grade, and two autographs share one combined grade. Our guide to checking an autograph card covers the rest.
What is on the back of the label?
The back carries a QR code that opens the card and its images on CGC’s website. For sports cards with a manufacturer’s certified autograph, the autograph grade appears on the back too.
A few extra lines can appear on a label:
- A pedigree, naming a past or present owner. CGC charges $5 a card. A previous owner must be significant and documented, but you can usually name yourself without documents.
- Inadvertent Early Release, for a card that came out before its intended date and reached CGC at least 30 days before the official release.
- Hand Cut, an attribute for cards the maker did not cut, such as strip cards.
- An error name. Printing errors, such as Crimped or Partial Crimp, are named on the label at no extra fee.
How do older CGC and CSG labels read?
CGC announced in June 2023 that CGC Trading Cards (for TCGs) and CSG (for sports cards) would combine as CGC Cards that July. Their slabs are still supported, and CGC’s legacy key converts the old grades:
- Gem Mint 9.5 from either company now counts as a CGC Cards Gem Mint 10. The label stays as printed, but CGC’s online tools, its population report and its registry show a 10.
- Perfect 10 from either company is a retired grade that keeps its Perfect 10 status. CGC reholders a Perfect 10 as a Pristine 10, and it recommends not reholdering them.
- Subgrades on older labels disappear if the card is reholdered.
- CSG’s color. CSG dropped its green label in March 2022 for a black, silver and gold design, so a green CSG label is simply an older one.
The old labels are no longer issued. A reholder puts the card in a CGC Cards label for $10 a card on a direct submission, with an estimated 20 working days, as of October 12, 2026. The card must still be in its original CGC or CSG holder.
How do you check a label against CGC’s records?
Use CGC’s Verify tool, typed in yourself or reached through the QR code. CGC images every card after encapsulation and shows the images there, so compare the card in your hand with CGC’s picture, not just the grade. Below the images, a link opens the card in CGC’s population report. Expect an older Gem Mint 9.5 to show as a 10.
How does an SGC label compare?
SGC also has two 10s: 10 PRI, for Pristine, and 10 GM. It uses black, green and white labels, and the color tells you the cert format: 7 digits on a black label, and 11 characters on a green or white one. For the companies’ fees, see whether a card is worth grading. The grading scale and CGC glossary entries define the terms here, and our guide to buying graded cards online covers the checks before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Can a signed card from another grader get CGC's yellow label?
No. A slabbed card whose signature was witnessed for another grader can go through CGC's CrossOver service, but it gets the CGC x JSA Authentic Autograph label once JSA confirms the signature, not the yellow one.
Does CGC use a different holder for thick or odd-sized cards?
Yes. CGC's Thick Holder takes cards up to 7.25mm thick in 5 different thicknesses, and a card cut slightly too large or too small goes in a holder with an adjustable inner sleeve. Every CGC holder locks and stacks with the others.
Can CGC fix a typo on a label?
Yes. CGC may correct a clerical error on a certification label. A card sent back for regrading in its original label, though, is not guaranteed to come back with the same grade.
How many people look at a card CGC grades?
At least 2. Under the CGC Guarantee, every submission is inspected by at least 2 professionals, and a slabbed card is guaranteed to be authentic and not overgraded.