Home/Grading Turnaround Times
Comparison · 2026 planning guidePokemon Card Grading Turnaround Times for 2026
Every grader publishes a range, not a promise. Here's what each tier actually costs and how long it actually takes, verified against each company's own live pricing page on 2026-09-07.
Pokemon card grading turnaround time is how long a grader holds your card before returning it, and it ranges from 2 business days to 90 business days depending on the company and tier. CGC's WalkThrough tier is fastest at 2 business days for $300; CGC's Economy tier is slowest among common tiers at 90 business days for $20.
Quick verdict: if you need a card back inside two weeks, only the higher-fee tiers qualify -- CGC WalkThrough (2 business days, $300), CGC Express (5 business days, $100), or PSA Walk-Through (7-10 business days, $599). If you have three to four months and want the lowest fee, CGC Economy ($20) or PSA Regular ($79.99) both work, at the cost of a long wait. TAG Score sits in the middle: 25 business days for $79, faster than PSA's or CGC's comparable-fee tiers, though its own tier ladder has had reliability issues worth reading about below. Turnaround is only half the decision -- see which grader is actually best for your card for the reputation and resale side of it, or the full fee breakdown if price is what's driving the choice.
Full turnaround and fee table, verified 2026-09-07
Scroll right on a phone to see every column
| Grader | Tier | Fee | Turnaround | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | Regular | $79.99 | 70-80 business days | PSA's cheaper Value tiers ($24.99-$64.99) are currently paused due to demand |
| PSA | Express | $149.00 | 20-30 business days | |
| PSA | Super Express | $349.00 | 10-15 business days | |
| PSA | Walk-Through | $599.00 | 7-10 business days | PSA also publishes 5 further Premium tiers up to $9,999+ for high-value cards |
| CGC | Economy | $20 | 90 business days | Bulk ($17) needs a 25-card minimum, so it doesn't apply to a single card |
| CGC | Standard | $55 | 10 business days | |
| CGC | Express | $100 | 5 business days | |
| CGC | WalkThrough | $300 | 2 business days | |
| TAG | TAG Score | $79 | 25 business days | TAG's Basic/Standard/Express ladder shows paused on its own live backlog tracker; TAG Score is the tier actually open today. TAG's public pricing pages disagree with its own tracker -- reconfirm directly with TAG. |
Turnaround times are business days quoted by each grader from the day a submission is received, not from the day you ship it -- add transit time on both ends, plus roughly $10-15 (est., RarityPay's own estimate) for a single tracked, insured shipment.
Planning by deadline
Business days aren't calendar days, and every grader's clock resets if a submission gets held up in quality control or authentication review -- these ranges are what each grader publishes, not a guarantee. Work backward from the date you actually need the card:
Notes on each grader's tiers
PSA
PSA's four public single-card tiers span a $79.99-$599.00 range and a 7-80 business day range, plus 5 further Premium tiers running up to $9,999+ for high-value cards. Its cheaper Value tiers are currently paused due to demand, which means there's no true budget-and-fast PSA option right now -- you're choosing between slow-and-cheap or fast-and-expensive.
CGC
CGC's four tiers span the widest turnaround range of the three graders here, from 2 to 90 business days, at fees from $20 to $300. Its cheapest tier is also its slowest by a wide margin, so CGC rewards planning ahead if you want the lower fee.
TAG
TAG currently has one open single-card tier, TAG Score, at $79 for 25 business days. TAG's public pricing pages have shown a Basic/Standard/Express ladder that its own live backlog tracker lists as paused -- the two sources disagree, so confirm directly with TAG which tier is actually accepting submissions before you send a card in.
How we verified this
Every fee and turnaround figure above comes from each grader's own published pricing page, checked on 2026-09-07 -- the same source that feeds RarityPay's own grade-EV calculator. We flagged the PSA Value-tier pause and the TAG pricing-versus-tracker discrepancy rather than smoothing over them, because a turnaround page that hides a paused tier isn't useful for planning. These numbers can and do change; reconfirm with the grader directly before submitting, especially for TAG.
FAQ
What's the fastest way to get a Pokemon card graded?
CGC's WalkThrough tier, at 2 business days for $300, is the fastest published turnaround among PSA, CGC and TAG as of 2026-09-07.
What's the cheapest tier, and how long does it take?
CGC's Economy tier is cheapest at $20, but it carries a 90 business day turnaround -- the longest wait of any tier on this page.
Why can't I submit to PSA's cheaper Value tiers?
PSA's Value tiers, priced $24.99-$64.99, are currently paused due to demand. Regular, at $79.99 for 70-80 business days, is presently PSA's cheapest open single-card tier.
Why does TAG's pricing page look different from what people say online?
TAG's public pricing pages list a Basic/Standard/Express ladder that its own live backlog tracker currently shows as paused. TAG Score is the tier actually open for single-card submissions today -- reconfirm directly with TAG before submitting.
Are these turnaround times business days or calendar days?
Business days, as published by each grader, counted from when the submission is received -- not from when you ship it. Add transit time on both ends when planning around a deadline.
Is it worth paying more for a faster tier?
It depends on your timeline and the card's value. See the sell-or-grade decision framework for how to weigh the wait against the price gap and fee.
Weigh the wait against the payoff
Run your card's real numbers through the free grade-EV calculator before you pick a tier.
No account needed to try it.
Prices, fees and grading-tier details reflect what's published on raritypay.com and by each grading company at the time this page was written and are subject to change.