What Supplies Do Grading Companies Require?
PSA requires each card in a clear penny sleeve inside a semi-rigid holder (the Card Saver I format), and strictly prohibits toploaders and screw-down holders — the exact holder this site recommends for almost every other purpose. Semi-rigid holders are the common submission format across the major graders. Requirements change, so verify the current policy with your grading company before shipping.
The counterintuitive part: a toploader is the sturdier holder and the wrong one. A grader has to get the card out, and the only way out of a rigid PVC toploader is to drag the card up its full length against the seams. A semi-rigid bows open, so the card lifts free without touching an edge. Corners and edges are graded — which is precisely what a toploader extraction puts at risk.
What PSA publishes
PSA's shipping guide is the most specific of the major graders, and it is worth reading in its own words before a first submission. The requirements it states:
- Clear penny sleeves only. PSA's guide says not to use solid or opaque sleeves, which cause delays — a grader has to see both faces without unsleeving the card.
- Semi-rigid holders for all submissions, of the Card Saver I type, with the sleeved card seated so both sides stay fully visible.
- No toploaders. No screw-downs. PSA describes these as strictly prohibited because they cause significant processing delays.
- Thick cards are the one exception, and only partly: an approved alternative such as a snap or magnetic case may be used for cards too thick for a semi-rigid. Toploaders remain unaccepted even then.
- Rubber bands snug, not tight. Just enough to hold the bundled cardboard together — packed too tightly, the contents can be damaged in transit.
- Non-compliance has a published price: PSA states a 5% processing and handling charge, on top of longer processing times.
Source: PSA Shipping Guide (psacard.com). PSA can revise this at any time — read it directly before you pack.
What we could not verify for the other graders
Beckett (BGS), CGC and SGC all accept the same oversized semi-rigid format, and secondhand guides consistently describe screw-down and hard acrylic holders as unacceptable across the board. We were not able to load Beckett's or CGC's own submission pages to quote their current wording, so we are not going to state their rules as though we had. Treat the semi-rigid plus penny sleeve combination as the safe default for any of them, and confirm the specifics with the company you are actually shipping to.
The submission kit
Two items touch the card, in this order: a clear penny sleeve, then a semi-rigid holder. That is the whole holder requirement. Everything else on a submission supply list — cardboard, rubber bands, a box, tape — is ordinary packing material.
Ultra Pro Soft Penny Sleeves (100 ct)
Soft polypropylene, standard size, fits 63.5 × 88 mm cards, acid-free claim
The default first layer for standard-size cards and the size most 35pt toploaders are designed to accommodate.
Best for: Bulk protection and the inner layer before a toploader
Watch out: Micron thickness is not consistently published across vendors, so two "penny sleeves" can differ in feel and thickness despite the same name.
Check price on AmazonNot deciding today? Add it to your cart over there — Amazon keeps it saved (and flags any price change) until you're ready.
BCW Semi-Rigid Card Holder (grading submission)
Oversized semi-rigid vinyl holder, approx. 3.25 x 5 in, open on one end
The holder format PSA requires for submissions — flexible enough that a grader can bow it open and slide the card out without dragging it across the edges.
Best for: Shipping cards to a grading company, and safe short-term transport generally
Watch out: Semi-rigid means semi-rigid: it resists bending but does not stop a hard crush the way a toploader does, so it is a submission and transit holder, not a storage or display one.
Check price on AmazonNot deciding today? Add it to your cart over there — Amazon keeps it saved (and flags any price change) until you're ready.
Search semi-rigid card holders on Amazon Search clear penny sleeves on Amazon
Why this contradicts the rest of this site
Grading companies publish their own submission supply requirements, and they change. Requirements typically cover which sleeve and holder types are accepted and how cards must be packed. Always verify the current requirements directly with the grading company before shipping — a guide page, including this one, is not a substitute for their published policy.
Our toploader PT decoder and most of our rigid-holder coverage point at toploaders, because for shipping a sold card, storing a hit, or protecting something in a box, a toploader is the better holder. Grading submission is the one job it is disqualified from. If you are buying supplies for both, you are buying two different things.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sleeve thickness is quoted in microns, but there is no governing standard and vendors disagree openly: penny sleeves are described as 30–40 microns by some suppliers and 40–60 microns by others, for products sold under the same name. Treat a micron figure as a vendor’s own claim rather than a comparable specification, and check the listed dimensions instead.
Double-sleeving means an inner "perfect fit" sleeve (roughly 64 × 89 mm, often loaded upside-down) inside an outer standard sleeve, sealing the card on all four edges. It adds real thickness, so a double-sleeved card may no longer fit a 35pt toploader or a tight binder pocket — step up a toploader size rather than forcing it.
Material claims matter more for long-term storage than for play. Look for a stated material (polypropylene, PET, or acrylic) and an explicit acid-free or archival-safe claim. "PVC-free" is a common marketing phrase; where a vendor does not state the polymer at all, the claim cannot be verified from the listing.