How to verify a slab: check the cert, then the case

Pick the grader, type the number on the label and open the grader's own lookup. Then check the plastic: a real number can sit in a reopened case.

By Alexander Korsager · Checked 7 October 2026 · We earn nothing from any app on this site

lookups open to our reader2 of 5

offline: BGS1

apps we could read print the cert1 of 5

PSAcert #

Type the number

PSA certification id, as printed on the label

PSA states no format for its number.

Open PSA's lookup No commission

Behind a bot check. PSA's security page links here as “Cert Verification”. A bot check stopped our reader: the page said it was verifying the visitor is not a bot.

Five graders, five lookups

Where each official lookup lives and the state it was in on 7 October 2026. 2 of 5 say what a number looks like.

PSA

Behind a bot check

Format: PSA's help article calls it “the unique number found on your PSA-graded label” and gives no length. Source
Shows: Certification details. Front and back scans too, for items sent at Express level or higher (“SecureScan”). Source

PSA's official lookup

Beckett (BGS)

Offline

Format: Nothing could be read: Beckett's site was offline. Source
Shows: Not readable while offline. The notice says grade records “remain intact and uncompromised”. Source

Beckett's notice

CGC Cards

Behind a bot check

Format: No format stated. The Cert # box on CGC's homepage shows a ten-digit example, 1234567999. Source
Shows: The card and its images: CGC says every card is imaged in high resolution after it is sealed. Source

CGC's official lookup

SGC

Lookup open

Format: “For black labels, enter all 7 digits. For green and white labels, enter all 11 characters (XXXXXXX-XXX).” Source
Shows: The lookup page does not say what a result holds. Source

SGC's official lookup

TAG Grading

Lookup open

Format: “The CERT# format is typically 1 Letter followed by 7 Numbers.” Source
Shows: The card's DIG report (“Digital Image & Grading”). The QR code on the slab opens the same report. Source

TAG's official lookup

A bot check is not an outage notice: the page said it was verifying the visitor is not a bot, and it stopped our page reader. Only type a cert number into the grader's own site or app.

Read the label

What each grader says is on its label and case. Pick a grader, then tap a number.

Front of the label. A diagram, not a copy of PSA's label.

1. Certification number

PSA: scan the label in the PSA app, or enter the Certification ID in Cert Verification on its site. Compare the card, year and grade returned with the label.

PSA's words, read on support.psacard.com

Features and quotes are the grader's own. Where a grader names a feature and no test, the panel says so. Thinking of a regrade? See grade, regrade or sell.

What a matching number proves

Less than it seems. The lookup checks the number, not the plastic in your hand.

A match tells you

It cannot tell you

The numberThe grader issued it, for that card at that grade.That this case is the one it was issued to. A number can be copied from any listing.

The labelIts wording agrees with the grader's record.That the label is the grader's own print, or that nothing was stuck over it.

The imagesWhere the grader holds them, how the card looked when it was sealed.Anything, where the grader holds none for that card.

When the slab arrives

Run these before any return or claim window closes. Pick the grader to add its own tests.

0 of 6

The number on the label is the number the app showedIf the app showed one. Photograph the label before you do anything else.Any slab
The grader's lookup returns the same card and gradeCompare the year, set, card number and grade on the label with the record.Any slab
The grader's images match the card in the caseCentring and print marks are hard to copy. CGC images every card; PSA images some.Any slab
No frosting or cracks along the edgesPSA: a broken weld leaves a cloudy look where the clear plastic meets.PSA's own test
The case is firm, with no flex or creakPSA: once the weld is broken “the plastic becomes more flexible again”, even if glued.PSA's own test
Held to a lamp, the label shows its other sidePSA: a fake front stuck over a real label makes it too thick to see through.PSA's own test

Tick each check as you run it, before the app's or the carrier's claim window closes.

3 of these come from PSA's own pages. A count of checks run, not a finding that a slab is genuine.

Shipping is not the only exit, and it is the only one that puts the case in your hands. Keep, sell or ship prices all three.

Which apps show the cert number

Read on each app's public pages on 7 October 2026. An app that prints the number lets you run the lookup before you pay to ship.

pack pages read show a cert before the rip0 of 4

pulled-card pages read print the number1 of 2

rated apps with no page read22

AppBefore the ripAfter the rip

Courtyard

Before the rip Not shownThe pack page names no cert. Its “Just Pulled” strip links cards other people pulled.Page read (no commission)

After the rip ShownEach card's public page prints the grader and number, with a “Verify certification” link to the grader.Page read (no commission)

Arena Club

Before the rip Not shownThe pack page has a checklist by tier. No cert number in the text we read.Page read (no commission)

After the rip Not confirmedNeeds an account.

Packz

Before the rip Not shownThe pack page names chase cards and grades. No cert numbers.Page read (no commission)

After the rip Not confirmedNeeds an account.

ClutchPacks

Before the rip Not confirmedPack page not read for this.

After the rip Not shownA pulled card's public page names the grader and grade. No cert number on the one we read.Page read (no commission)

GameStop Power Packs

Before the rip Not shownThe Power Packs page names no cert.Page read (no commission)

After the rip Not confirmedNeeds an account.

“Not confirmed” means the page sat behind a login, an app or a redirect, or was not opened. It is not a finding that the app hides the number. Packs that always hold a graded card are ranked on best slab packs.

Red flags

Any one of these is a reason to stop and write to the grader.

The lookup returns another card

The number exists, for something else. Do not sell or ship it on until the grader has answered.

Frosted or flexing edges

PSA's two signs of a broken weld: a cloudy edge, and plastic that gives under a fingernail.PSA buyer's guide

A label you cannot see through

PSA says an extra layer of paper over a real label blocks the light.PSA buyer's guide

A seller who will not let the grader look

PSA: “If the seller does hesitate whatsoever, you may have your answer already.”PSA buyer's guide

Questions people ask

How do I check a PSA cert number?

PSA's help article gives two routes: scan the label or its QR code in the PSA app, or enter the Certification ID in Cert Verification on its website. Compare the card, year and grade returned with the label.

Is Beckett's cert lookup down?

On 7 October 2026 it was. Beckett's lookup address redirected to a notice dated 2 October 2026 saying its platforms had been taken offline. The notice puts “Certificate Look-up” in the first phase of the return and gives no date.

Does a valid cert number mean the slab is genuine?

No. It shows the grader issued that number for that card. It cannot show that the case in your hand is the one the number belongs to, so check the label and the edges as well.

Which rip apps show the cert number?

A public page could be read for 5 apps. 1 of the 2 pulled-card pages read printed the number, and 0 of the 4 pack pages read showed one before the rip. For the other 22 rated apps no page was read: some were not opened, and some sat behind a login, an app or a redirect.

Sources15

PSA: security, the LightHouse label and the holder psacard.com · read 7 October 2026
PSA: security, a buyer's guide psacard.com · read 7 October 2026
PSA help: how can I verify my certification number? support.psacard.com · read 7 October 2026
CGC Cards: homepage, Verify CGC Certification cgccards.com · read 7 October 2026
CGC Cards: holder and label cgccards.com · read 7 October 2026
SGC: cert verification gosgc.com · read 7 October 2026
Beckett: tech updates, 2 October 2026 maintenance.beckett.com · read 7 October 2026
TAG Grading: your cards are TAG'd (DIG report and Proof) taggrading.com · read 7 October 2026
TAG Grading: cert search taggrading.com · read 7 October 2026
Courtyard: pack page courtyard.io · read 7 October 2026
Courtyard: a pulled card's page courtyard.io · read 7 October 2026
ClutchPacks: a pulled card's page clutchpacks.io · read 7 October 2026
Packz: pack page packz.io · read 7 October 2026
Arena Club: pack page arenaclub.com · read 7 October 2026
GameStop Power Packs: pack page gamestop.com · read 7 October 2026

Alexander Korsager

Every figure was read on public pages between 6 October 2026 and 7 October 2026. Nothing here has been tested with money yet. Grader and app pages for this guide were read on 7 October 2026. No slab has been handled and no lookup run on a purchase.