How to prepare Pokémon cards for grading: a UK checklist

Before you send a card for grading, check its surface, corners, edges and centering under good light, sleeve it and put it in a toploader, and make sure the grade it is likely to get is worth more than the fee. A grade reflects the card exactly as it arrives, so ten minutes of checking at home is the difference between a submission that pays for itself and one that does not. If you are sending cards to Imperium Grading, our Imperium Grading discount code takes 5% off.

1. Check the surface

Hold the card under a bright light and tilt it slowly so the light rolls across it. Scratches, scuffs, dents and print lines show up far more clearly at an angle than face-on. Holo and full-art cards are the hardest to judge, because their texture can hide small marks until you move them. If there is dust, lift it with a dry microfibre cloth using the lightest touch — never use liquids or cleaning products, which can damage the surface permanently.

2. Check the corners and edges

Look at each corner from the back of the card first. Whitening, where the dark border has worn to show the white card stock beneath, is most obvious on the back and is one of the most common reasons a card misses a top grade. Then run your eye along all four edges for chips, nicks or roughness from the cutting process. Even pack-fresh cards can have edge wear straight out of the booster.

3. Check the centering

Compare the width of the left border with the right, and the top with the bottom. The closer they are to equal, the better the centering. Grading companies express this as a ratio: 50/50 is perfect, and a card at 60/40 has noticeably more border on one side. Imperium Grading measures centering on every card it grades, and its Red Label — reserved for perfect cards — requires 51/49 or better alongside a 10 on every subgrade.

4. Decide whether the card is worth grading

Grading costs money in both directions: the fee, and postage there and back. Before you submit, look up what the card sells for raw and roughly what it sells for graded, and only send it if the difference comfortably covers your costs. In practice that usually means high-rarity cards in excellent condition — illustration rares, special illustration rares and chase cards from popular sets — rather than commons or cards with visible wear. Cards you want graded for your own collection are the exception; there the value is whatever it is worth to you.

5. Pack the cards properly

Put each card in a soft sleeve, then slide it into a toploader or semi-rigid holder so it cannot bend. Pack the holders snugly so they cannot move around inside the parcel, and use a sturdy box or padded envelope rather than a plain letter. Always follow the packing instructions your grading company gives when you submit — they take priority over any general advice, including ours.

Choosing a grading tier

Most graders charge more for a faster turnaround. With Imperium Grading, Bronze is the cheapest per card at £12 but needs at least five cards and takes 15–30 business days, while Platinum grades a single card for £35 in 1–2 business days. Our Imperium Grading price guide lists every tier with the 5% discount applied.

Find cards worth grading

If you are looking for a card to send off, we sell individually priced Pokémon singles and Disney Lorcana singles, including the full arts and illustration rares collectors most often grade. And if you are choosing between printings of the same card, our guide to Japanese vs English Pokémon cards explains how they differ.