Pokemon Card Grading Scale Explained: PSA 10 Requirements & Sub-Grades

The Pokemon card grading scale is a 1-10 rating system used by professional grading companies to certify the condition of trading cards. A PSA 10 Gem Mint — the highest grade — requires near-perfect centering (55/45 or better on the front), razor-sharp corners, clean edges, and a flawless surface. Understanding what each grade means and what the graders look for is essential for any collector who wants to submit cards for grading.

Every grading company evaluates cards on the same four fundamental criteria: centering, corners, edges, and surface. However, the specific tolerances, grading scales, and sub-grade reporting differ between PSA, CGC, BGS, and TAG. This guide explains the complete grading scale, what each grade means, and exactly what it takes to achieve a Gem Mint 10.

The Four Grading Criteria

Every major grading company — PSA, CGC, BGS, and TAG — evaluates cards on the same four fundamental criteria. Understanding these is essential for both knowing what to submit and for assessing your cards before you spend money on grading fees.

1. Centering

Centering measures how evenly the printed image sits within the card's borders. A perfectly centered card has equal margins on all sides. Graders measure centering as a ratio — 55/45 means one side's border is 55% of the total border width while the opposite side is 45%.

Centering is the #1 reason Pokemon cards fail to achieve PSA 10. Holographic cards, in particular, suffer from off-center prints from the factory. The cutting process at the factory is not perfectly precise, and many cards come off the production line with noticeable centering issues.

To measure centering at home, use a centering tool app or a physical centering guide. Measure the border widths on all four sides. Calculate the ratio: wider border ÷ (wider + narrower border) × 100. If the result is worse than 55/45 on either axis, the card is not a PSA 10 candidate.

2. Corners

All four corners must be sharp. Even the slightest ding, whitening, or rounding can drop a card from a 10 to a 9 — or lower. Graders examine corners under 10x magnification, looking for any sign of wear: whitening, fuzziness, rounding, bends, or dings.

A corner that looks razor-sharp to your naked eye can reveal micro-fraying under a jeweler's loupe. PSA graders use magnification, and they will catch what you cannot see without it. Corner damage is cumulative — each of the four corners contributes to the overall assessment.

Corner wear is the most common issue on vintage cards. Cards that were played with, shuffled, or stored loosely in the 1990s almost always have some corner wear. Even sleeve-stored cards from kids in the 90s usually have corner wear visible under magnification.

3. Edges

Edges are the thin borders running along all four sides of the card. Graders check for chipping, whitening, fraying, notching, and any rough spots. Edge whitening — where the card's paper layers become visible — is the most common flaw.

Black-bordered cards (1st Edition Base Set, etc.) reveal edge wear instantly. Even handling can cause edge whitening on black-bordered cards. Edge wear is also common on cards that have been shuffled, played in tournaments, or stored loosely.

Edge defects that bleed into the surface tend to kill a card's chances of grading as a 10, and often cause the card to be a PSA 8 or lower. Rough factory cuts on edges can be acceptable, but chipping or damage that extends into the surface is not.

4. Surface

The surface is the trickiest attribute because defects can be nearly invisible. Graders check for scratches (especially on holographic areas), print lines (factory defects that look like thin raised lines), ink spots, dents, creases, and any clouding or haziness.

Surface issues are the #1 reason pack-fresh cards do not get a 10. The best approach for seeing all possible marks is to have a small desk light and move it over all parts of the card at different angles. Print lines that are invisible under normal lighting become clearly visible under angled light.

Creases and dents are grade killers. Even a light crease usually caps you at PSA 6 or below, no matter how perfect everything else looks. The card's original gloss should still be present — loss of gloss is a sign of handling wear.

The PSA Grading Scale (1-10)

PSA uses a 1-10 scale with whole-number grades only. No half-grades are awarded. The final grade represents the lowest score across the four criteria — a card with perfect corners, edges, and surface but 58/42 centering receives a PSA 9, not a PSA 10.

Grade	Name	Centering (Front/Back)	Description
10	Gem Mint	55/45 / 75/25	Virtually perfect. Sharp corners, clean edges, flawless surface, full original gloss. No print defects that diminish appeal.
9	Mint	60/40 / 90/10	One minor flaw visible under close inspection. Corners sharp to the naked eye with one showing minor imperfection under magnification.
8	Near Mint-Mint	65/35 / 90/10	Appears Mint at first glance. Slightest fraying at one or two corners. Slight printing imperfection allowable.
7	Near Mint	70/30 / 90/10	Slight surface wear visible on close inspection. Corners may have slight fraying. Minor printing blemish acceptable. Most original gloss retained.
6	Excellent-Mint	75/25 / 90/10	Visible surface wear or a printing defect not detrimental to overall appearance. Some original gloss may be lost.
5	Excellent	80/20 / 90/10	Noticeable flaws. Minor rounding on corners. Slight scratching visible.
4	Very Good-Excellent	85/15 / 90/10	Well-rounded corners. Visible surface wear. Light scuffing on borders. May have light creases.
3	Very Good	90/10 / 90/10	Obvious handling. Significant corner wear with rounding. Minor creases. Some gloss lost.
2	Good	90/10 / 90/10	Multiple significant flaws. Heavy wear.
1	Poor	N/A	Severe damage. Tears, missing pieces.

What It Takes to Get a PSA 10

A PSA 10 Gem Mint is the holy grail of card grading. It means the card is virtually perfect in every way. Here is exactly what each criterion requires for a 10:

PSA 10 Centering Requirements

Front: 55/45 or better (the wider border can be no more than 55% of the total border width on that axis). Back: 75/25 or better. The 75/25 back requirement is quite lenient — even cards that look very off-center on the back still fall within this threshold.

Quick example: if you measure the left border at 5mm and the right border at 4mm, the ratio is 5/(5+4) = 55.5%. That is worse than 55/45, so the card is not a PSA 10 candidate on centering alone.

PSA changed the front centering standard from 60/40 to 55/45 in 2025. This means newer submissions are held to a stricter standard than older ones. If you are using population reports as a guide for what is achievable, look for cards with certification numbers of 100,000,000 or higher, as these were graded under the current 55/45 standard.

PSA 10 Corner Requirements

All four corners must be perfectly sharp. No rounding, no fraying, no fuzzing, no dings. Period. Under 10x magnification, even microscopic wear is visible. The tiniest bit of whitening or softness on one corner can knock you down to a PSA 9.

From experience, a card can have one or two less-than-perfect corners, including minor dings or softness, and still sometimes receive a PSA 10. But this is the exception, not the rule. Do not count on leniency.

PSA 10 Edge Requirements

Edges need to be clean — no chipping, dents, notching, or whitening. The card should keep its full original gloss along all four edges. Rough factory cuts on edges can be acceptable, but chipping or damage that extends into the surface is not acceptable and often leads to PSA 8 or worse.

PSA 10 Surface Requirements

The surface needs to be free of scratches, staining, print defects, or anything that hurts eye appeal. This is the most subjective category. Surface defects that will kill a PSA 10 include:

• Hairline scratches that only show under direct light (holofoil cards are especially vulnerable)
• Print lines from the factory printing process (not your fault, but PSA counts them)
• Ink spots or dots from printing
• Holo scratches on the holographic layer
• Fingerprints from oil on your fingers
• Staining or discoloration
• Silvering where the foil layer shows through

BGS Grading Scale and Sub-Grades

BGS (Beckett Grading Services) uses a 1-10 scale with half-point increments. The key differentiator is that BGS includes four sub-grades on every slab: centering, corners, edges, and surface. The overall grade is the average of the four sub-grades, rounded to the nearest half-point.

BGS grading designations:

• Black Label (BGS 10): All four sub-grades are 10. Extremely rare and the most valuable designation in the hobby.
• Pristine (BGS 10): Overall 10 with at least one sub-grade at 9.5.
• Gem Mint (BGS 9.5): Similar to PSA 10 in market value. Highly desirable.
• Mint (BGS 9): Equivalent to PSA 9 in condition.

BGS has stricter centering requirements for a 10 than PSA: 50/50 to 55/45 on the front, compared to PSA's 55/45. This makes a BGS 10 harder to achieve than a PSA 10 on off-center cards. BGS 9.5 is roughly equivalent in strictness to PSA 10.

CGC Grading Scale

CGC uses a 1-10 scale with half-point increments. Their highest grade is the Pristine 10, which is considered stricter than a PSA 10. CGC's standard 10 (Gem Mint) is comparable in difficulty to a PSA 10.

CGC reports gem rates of 63.5% for modern cards, slightly outpacing PSA's approximately 50% modern gem rate. However, these figures are not directly comparable due to differences in submission mix — CGC receives a higher proportion of modern TCG submissions, which tend to grade higher than vintage cards.

CGC offers optional sub-grades, but only on Pristine 10 grades. For most submissions, you receive a single overall grade without the four-category breakdown.

TAG's 1,000-Point System

TAG (Trading Card Authenticator & Grader) uses a 1,000-point composite scoring system. Instead of a simple 1-10 grade, TAG assigns a precise score out of 1,000. A score of 950+ is equivalent to a Gem Mint 10, but the exact point total provides far more granularity than any other grading company offers.

For example, a TAG score of 973 tells you the card is a high-end 9.5, close to but not quite a 10. A TAG score of 952 tells you the card barely made the 9.5 threshold. This level of detail is impossible with PSA's whole-number system or BGS's half-point system.

TAG's AI-powered grading eliminates human subjectivity. The same card submitted multiple times will receive the same score, ensuring consistency that human graders cannot match.

Grading Standards Comparison Table

Factor	PSA	BGS	CGC	TAG
Scale	1-10 (whole only)	1-10 (half-points)	1-10 (half-points)	1,000-point composite
Subgrades	Not available	Included on every slab	Pristine 10 only	1,000-pt breakdown
Centering for 10	55/45 front, 75/25 back	50/50-55/45 both sides	~55/45-60/40	AI-measured
Top Designation	Gem Mint 10	Black Label 10	Pristine 10	1,000 perfect
Grading Method	Human	Human	Human	AI-powered robotic
Modern Gem Rate	~50%	Stricter than PSA	~63.5%	N/A (newer)

Frequently Asked Questions

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