How to Ship Cards to PSA: Step-by-Step Submission Guide

By William Rowe, ShouldISlabIt · Updated Oct 15, 2026

Sending cards to PSA for the first time can feel nerve-racking. You're mailing valuable cardboard across the country. The process is simple once you've done it, and PSA publishes clear instructions. This guide follows PSA's official How to Submit and Shipping Guide pages and adds practical tips. Before you start, make sure grading is worth it with our grading calculator, and check your cards against our PSA grading standards guide.

Not affiliated with PSA. Steps, addresses and fees were checked on psacard.com on Oct 15, 2026. PSA updates its process, so follow the instructions on your own order if they differ.

Step 1: Create your submission online

Every PSA submission starts online, on psacard.com or in the PSA app. PSA's How to Submit page offers two options:

• Assisted Submission (cards only). Scan your cards in the PSA app or enter them on the web. PSA estimates each card's graded value and recommends a service level card by card. You can accept the suggestions or change them.
• Classic Submission (all items). Choose the item type, pick a service level, enter item details, review the order, choose a destination and pay.

Both options let you pick where cards go when they're finished: back to your home, into the PSA Vault, or listed on eBay. You pay at checkout, then print your submission form.

Step 2: Choose a service level

The service level sets your price, estimated turnaround and maximum insured value per card. On Oct 15, 2026, PSA's fees page listed:

PSA said its Value services were temporarily paused, and it has premium options for cards worth more than $10,000. Pick a tier whose max value covers your card's realistic graded value, not its raw price. Express and higher include Grader Notes that explain card defects. Unsure whether the fee is worth it? Plug the tier price into the calculator. To compare costs with other graders, see PSA vs BGS vs CGC vs SGC.

Step 3: Prep your cards

PSA's Shipping Guide is specific here, and following it helps avoid delays:

1. Gather supplies: your printed submission form, clear penny sleeves, semi-rigid card holders, cardboard dividers, rubber bands, a new shipping box, bubble wrap and packing tape. PSA also sells a submission kit with these supplies.
2. Sleeve each card in a clear penny sleeve. PSA says solid or opaque sleeves can cause delays.
3. Put each sleeved card in a semi-rigid holder (often sold as "Card Savers"). For standard trading cards, PSA says the holder must be 3 5/16" × 4 7/8". Both sides of the card must be fully visible. Don't use toploaders, tape, pull tabs or sticky notes.
4. Put the cards in order. Stack them in the exact order listed on your submission form, with Item #1 on top.

Tip: handle cards by the edges with clean, dry hands, and give each card one last look before you sleeve it. Never try to clean or press a card. PSA treats that as alteration.

Step 4: Pack the box

5. Secure the stack between two cardboard dividers with 2 to 3 rubber bands. PSA says to make them tight enough to stop shifting but loose enough not to damage the cards.
6. Wrap and box: wrap the stack in packing material, put it in a new shipping box, and fill empty space so nothing moves.
7. Include your printed submission form inside the box. If you're shipping more than one submission, bundle each one separately.
8. Seal every seam with packing tape. PSA says not to use painter's tape, Scotch tape or reused tape.
9. Apply your tracking label ID from your confirmation page to the outside of the box, with the barcodes fully visible. PSA warns that skipping this step or applying the label incorrectly can delay order entry and processing.
10. Address the box to the correct PSA address, with the shipping label stuck directly on the box. Don't use label pouches.

On Oct 15, 2026, PSA listed these addresses for cards: via USPS, CU Receiving, P.O. Box 6180, Newport Beach, CA 92658; via UPS, FedEx or DHL, CU Receiving, 1600 E. St Andrew Place, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Check the address on PSA's page or on your order before you ship. Autographs and other items go to different addresses.

Step 5: Shipping and insurance tips

• Use a trackable service and keep the receipt. PSA asks you not to include postage stamps, packing materials or prepaid return labels in the box.
• Know who covers what. PSA says it takes full responsibility for your items while they're in its possession, but isn't liable for damage or loss during shipping. Insuring the package on the way to PSA is up to you.
• Insure to realistic value. Carrier insurance and third-party shipping insurance have their own rules and limits. Read them, and keep photos of every card front and back before you seal the box.
• If something goes wrong in transit, PSA says to contact the carrier (UPS, USPS, FedEx or DHL) directly.
• Don't want to ship? PSA says you can also hand-deliver orders at local submission events.

Count shipping and insurance as grading costs in the calculator. They can be what turns a small profit into a loss.

Step 6: Tracking your order

After your package is delivered, follow the order in your PSA account (PSA's site links "Find My Package" to My Orders) or in the PSA app, which PSA says lets you track your order through each process milestone. PSA counts turnaround estimates in business days, so weekends, holidays and shipping time aren't included.

What happens after PSA receives your cards

PSA describes three stages. First, authentication: graders check whether each card is genuine and look for signs of doctoring like re-coloring or trimming. Then grading on PSA's 1 to 10 scale. Finally, encapsulation in a sonically sealed, tamper-evident case, with the grade and certification number on the label. Standard and higher tiers include images of the front and back of the graded card. Cards that can't be graded get a "No Grade" code. Our grading guide explains those codes. When the order is finished, the cards go where you chose: back to you, into the PSA Vault, or listed on eBay.

More guides

• PSA Grading Standards Explained: What PSA looks for at every grade, centering limits, qualifiers and a pre-submission checklist.
• Is It Worth Grading Pokémon Cards?: When grading pays off, worked examples with real fee math, and when to sell raw instead.
• PSA vs BGS vs CGC vs SGC: Grading scales, top labels, current standard-tier pricing and which grader fits Pokémon or sports.

Ready to run your own numbers? Use the Pokémon grading calculator or the sports card calculator.

FAQ

Can I send cards to PSA in toploaders?

No. PSA's Shipping Guide says to put each card in a clear penny sleeve and then a semi-rigid holder (3 5/16" × 4 7/8" for standard cards), and not to use toploaders, tape, pull tabs or sticky notes.

Do I need to put the submission form in the box?

Yes. PSA says to put the printed submission form inside the box and to stick the tracking label ID from your confirmation page on the outside.

Does PSA insure my cards while they're being shipped?

PSA says it takes responsibility for items while they're in its possession but isn't liable for loss or damage during shipping, so insuring the package on the way there is up to you.

How long does PSA take?

On Oct 15, 2026, PSA estimated 90 to 100 business days for Standard and 20 to 30 for Express, not counting shipping. Check PSA's fees page for current estimates.

Sources

• PSA, How to Submit, Assisted Submission and Classic Submission guides (steps, destinations, submission events, app tracking). Accessed Oct 15, 2026.
• PSA, Shipping Guide (supplies, clear penny sleeves, 3 5/16" × 4 7/8" semi-rigid holders, no toploaders, packing steps, tracking label, addresses, customer shipping advisory). Accessed Oct 15, 2026.
• PSA, Trading card grading fees (service levels, prices, max insured values, turnaround, authentication, grading and encapsulation process). Accessed Oct 15, 2026.