How to read a TAG label: grade, score and cert

A TAG slab has no paper label. TAG prints the grade and the card’s details inside the clear case itself, a design it calls a transparent, paperless flip, or simply the tag. To read one, check four things: the lines that name the card, the grade, the cert number next to the QR code, and the Proof Mark on the back. Then open the card’s online report and make sure it matches the slab in your hand. Our guide to TAG grading covers its prices, waits and the cards it takes.

What is printed on a TAG slab?

Read the Card ID lines first, and check them against the card. A wrong year, number or variation is a label error, and TAG has a route for fixing it (see below). The card number and parallel entries in our glossary explain the terms those lines use.

The case itself is part of the label’s job. The slab is acrylic with UV and abrasion resistance, blocks most UV light below 400 nanometers, and measures 5.25 by 3.125 inches in the standard size, for cards up to 50pt.

How do the grade, name and score fit together?

TAG uses three related figures. The grade runs from 1 to 10, with half grades at every step except between 9 and 10, so there is no 9.5. The condition name is the word TAG attaches to each grade. The TAG Score is a finer figure, from 100 to 1,000, and each grade covers a band of scores.

Two patterns in that table make a score quick to read. By Rip.fan’s arithmetic, every grade from 1 to 9 covers a band 50 scores wide, so below 950 you can divide the score by 100 and round down to the nearest half: 879 becomes 8.79, which is an 8.5. And the top of the scale is narrow: Gem Mint 10 spans 40 scores, Pristine 10 only 11. A score of 949 is one short of Gem Mint 10.

The report for cert Y1267951, a 1989 Upper Deck card graded in July 2023, shows how this looks in practice: a TAG Score of 879 with a grade of 8.5, NM MT+, which sits inside the 850 to 899 band.

TAG says its Pristine grade goes beyond the hobby’s usual standard for a Gem Mint 10. Our guide to Pristine and Perfect grades sets TAG’s top grade beside CGC’s and SGC’s, and the grading scale entry explains how scales differ.

Where is the cert number, and what does it look like?

Beside the QR code, to its left. It is typically a letter and then 7 numbers, a pattern Y1267951 fits, though TAG also describes cert numbers more loosely as a mix of letters and numbers, and customers cannot ask for sequential ones. So treat the letter and 7 numbers as the usual form.

There are three ways to look a number up:

1. Scan the QR code. A QR reader app may work more reliably than a phone’s own camera app.
2. Type it in. Enter the cert number in the search at the top right of TAG’s site, or use its Cert Search tool for several cards in a row.
3. Browse to it. TAG’s Pop Report lets anyone open the report of any TAG-graded card.

The glossary’s cert number entry covers how graders use these numbers, and our guide to checking a graded card’s cert compares TAG’s lookup with CGC’s and SGC’s.

How do you check the slab against its report?

Open the report and work down it:

1. The card. The name, year, set, number and variation should match the Card ID lines on the slab.
2. The grade. The grade, condition name and, where your level includes one, the score should match.
3. The images. The report’s images show the card as it arrived, and cards are not handled outside their protective shields before imaging. Compare those images with the card in the case, corners and surface included.
4. The Proof Mark. Download the free Proof Authentication app, hold the slab in your hand rather than laying it flat, line the app’s target up with the mark on the back, and tilt the slab away from any glare. A scan generally takes a few seconds, and every Proof Mark is scanned before the slab leaves TAG’s building.

The report also shows, with a date, how many copies of the card TAG has graded and, on a TAG Score report, how this one ranks among them. Those figures change daily as more cards are graded. Our guide to reading a pop report explains what such counts do and do not tell you.

What do the marks along the edge mean?

Probably nothing. TAG seals its slabs by ultrasonic welding at set spots around the edge, and because the plastic is so clear, those weld spots can look like cracks inside the edges. They are natural weld spots and no sign of damage. The slab is not hermetically sealed, though it guards against dust, handling and general weather. If a slab from a recent order really did arrive damaged, contact TAG’s customer service. Our guide to spotting a fake slab covers the physical checks for CGC and SGC slabs.

Which kind of TAG slab do you have?

A card can come back from TAG in three ways.

As of September 30, 2026, TAG includes the score with its STANDARD level and above. The Regular report shows a few scores out of 1,000, but only for the measures TAG calls Fill, Fray and Angle. Since July 2025, a Regular card that reaches Pristine is moved up to full scoring automatically.

A card can move between kinds, but only by going back to TAG. You buy the new service, enter the card in TAG’s customer portal and send it in its original case; TAG then reprocesses it and reslabs and images it under the new kind. TAG may not honor the earlier grade on a card you take out of its case first, because removal and shipping can cause new damage.

What if the label is wrong?

Email TAG’s customer service with your name, the email on your TAG account, the cert number, a short description of the error and a photo of it. If TAG approves the claim, it explains how to send the card in for a reslab at no charge. TAG offers the same free reslab for labeling errors and significant defects if you report them soon after the order arrives, so read every slab the day the box comes.

How does a TAG label compare with CGC’s and SGC’s?

Our guides to reading a CGC label and reading an SGC label decode those labels in full. Once a slab checks out, storing graded cards covers keeping it in that condition, and the glossary’s TAG Grading and slab entries define the terms.

Frequently asked questions

What does TAG charge to reslab a slab you broke?

$15 a card plus shipping, as TAG listed it on April 21, 2026, for a slab the collector damaged. TAG aims to reslab the card and mail it back within 15 business days of receiving it.

How long do you have to report a TAG label error?

10 days from the order's arrival. TAG corrects labeling errors and mechanical defects at no charge only when customer service hears about them within that window.

Can a TAG V card be graded later?

Yes, unless it is a sketch card or a printing plate, which TAG seals as TAG V but never grades.

How close can you zoom on a TAG report?

Up to 800 times. TAG's Card Vision view, set with a slider, blends the card's color image with its surface scan so defects stand out.