How to verify a slab's cert number

Each grading company prints a unique certification (“cert”) number on the label of every holder it seals, and each runs a free public lookup that returns what it has on file for that number. Checking the cert before you buy — or before you rely on a listing's photos — is the single cheapest piece of due diligence in the hobby.

The basic method

1. Find the number on the front label of the holder. On PSA slabs the cert ID is printed on the label; SGC and Beckett print a serial number on the slab front; CGC cert numbers are long numeric codes (13 digits in the example below).
2. Type it into the grader's own lookup page — never a link supplied by the seller.
3. Compare every field: year, set, card number, player, variety, grade and any qualifier.
4. Compare the images, if the grader has them, with the card in front of you or in the listing. Look at centering, print marks and corner wear — details that are hard to fake consistently.
5. If anything doesn't match, contact the grading company before money changes hands.

Where to check, grader by grader

An example of what a CGC record looks like: cert 1401016637017 returns a 2022 Pokémon Lost Origin Pikachu, card TG05/TG30, Trainer Gallery holo variant, graded Mint+ 9.5 on 12 January 2024, with obverse and reverse scans. A PSA record for a 2019 Panini Hoops #296 Zion Williamson similarly returns year, brand, number, player and grade (GEM MT 10) — and, notably, the label type. Varieties such as a color parallel should appear on the record; if a listing claims a parallel the cert record doesn't mention, ask why.

What a match does not prove

PSA's own cert page is blunt about the limits: a matching number does not eliminate risk, because counterfeiters can copy real cert numbers taken from public sources onto fake labels and holders. PSA recommends buying from trustworthy sources and specifically does not recommend Craigslist, Mercari or OfferUp for graded cards. A reference guide to Beckett slabs makes the same point — a lookup alone does not guarantee authenticity, since slabs and serial numbers can be forged.

That is why the images matter more than the text fields. A forged label can carry the right words; it is much harder for a different physical card to match the grader's own scan in every detail of centering, print and wear.

Signs that need a closer look

• The cert returns a different card, grade or year from the label.
• The cert returns no record at all (re-check for typos first; CGC's lookup itself suggests confirming the number was entered correctly).
• The grader's image shows different centering or a different print mark from the card being offered.
• The holder shows signs of being opened. PSA states that an item removed from its holder, or in a holder showing tampering, loses its certification.
• The label is from a grader the seller won't name, or the slab has no number visible in photos.

Mislabels and corrections

Genuine errors happen. PSA's FAQ says it will correct mislabeled items free of charge after review, and CGC's lookup pages invite collectors to email if the record doesn't match the card or a holder appears counterfeit or tampered with. Reporting a mismatch to the grader is worthwhile even after a sale, since the record is what the next buyer will check.