Grading status: PSA backlog and open tiers
PSA's own backlog figures, which tiers PSA, SGC, CGC Cards and Beckett have open, and what the cheapest open tier costs. Every number comes from the grader's own page, with the day we read it. Checked ; next check due .
- PSA backlog
- 8.2 million
- As of
- October 6, 2026
- PSA target
- 5 million
- Cheapest open PSA tier
- Standard, $59.99
PSA backlog
PSA reported 8.2 million units on October 6, 2026, 0.8 million fewer than on September 22, 2026. The highest figure on the tracker is 12.4 million (July 28, 2026). PSA's target is 5 million: "our current projections anticipate it will take 5-6 months to reach our target of bringing the backlog down to 5 million units." (entry of June 2, 2026). Latest outlook: "sustained progress at this rate puts us on path to assess reopening additional service tiers in the coming months."
| Tracker entry | Backlog (units) | Change | PSA's words |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 6, 2026 | 8.2 million | -0.8 million | "Our active grading backlog is now 8.2 million units, down from 9 million reported September 22." |
| September 22, 2026 | about 9 million | -0.9 million | "Our active global backlog is down to approximately 9 million units (from 9.9 million on September 8)" |
| September 8, 2026 | 9.9 million | -1 million | "Our active grading backlog is down to 9.9 million units, from 10.9 million reported August 25." |
| August 25, 2026 | about 10.9 million | -0.95 million | "Our active global backlog is down to approximately 10.9 million units." |
| August 11, 2026 | 11.85 million | -0.55 million | "Our active backlog has dropped to 11.85 million units, down from 12.4 million" |
| July 28, 2026 | 12.4 million | +1.4 million | "Our active backlog is up to 12.4 million units, increasing from 11 million as of our July 14 update." |
| July 14, 2026 | 11 million | -1 million | "The backlog currently stands at 11 million units, with our output continuing to accelerate." |
| June 30, 2026 | about 12 million | - | "Our current backlog is at approximately 12 million units and trending down" |
| June 8, 2026 | No number | - | "it may take 6-8 weeks to open Value and Value Bulk service level packages before items move into the grading process." |
| June 2, 2026 | No number | - | "Due to a 20% spike in submissions which resulted in our backlog approaching 10 million, we announced a temporary pause to Value tiers effective June 2, 2026." |
Source: PSA Backlog Tracker, read . PSA: "Updated bi-weekly as PSA works toward reopening Value submissions." Units are PSA's count of items in its active backlog; "about" marks entries where PSA wrote "approximately". Change is against the previous entry with a number.
Open tiers and fees
| Grader | Open tiers | Cheapest open tier | Paused | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | Standard, Priority, Express, Super Express, Premier, Premium 1, Premium 2, Premium 3, Premium 5, Premium 10 | Standard: $59.99 per card, up to $1,000 value, 90-100 business days | Value Bulk, Value | |
| SGC | Standard, Expedited | Standard: $50 per card, up to $1,500 value, 40+ days | - | |
| CGC Cards | Bulk, Economy, Standard, Express, WalkThrough | Bulk: $17 per card, up to $500 value, 150 working days, 25-card minimum | - | |
| Beckett (BGS) | No prices shown | - | - |
- PSA: Value Bulk and Value are paused ("Value Services Are Temporarily Paused"). Standard is the lowest open tier.
- SGC: Standard turnaround is listed as 40+ days, Expedited as 2-3 days.
- CGC Cards: Bulk needs a 25-card minimum. Associate and Premium members save 10% on grading, Elite members 20% (not applied here).
- Beckett (BGS): beckett.com/grading redirected to a maintenance page when we checked. The page says Base and Standard card grading submissions are temporarily paused and "Express is currently available through the temporary submission form", but it shows no prices.
Fees are per standard-size card in USD, before shipping, insurance and add-ons. Turnaround figures are the graders' own estimates and none is guaranteed. Every tier with its price is in the grading fee calculator.
What changed
- October 14, 2026 (Seen on our check), PSA: Premium 5 and Premium 10 now list an estimated 5-7 business days; on October 10 neither showed a turnaround. Prices unchanged."Estimated Turnaround Time: 5 - 7 Business Days*" (PSA trading card grading services page, read )
- October 10, 2026 (Seen on our check), Beckett (BGS): beckett.com/grading leads to a maintenance page: Base and Standard paused, Express open, no prices. Same on October 14."we've temporarily paused Base and Standard card grading submissions" (Beckett maintenance page, read )
- September 14, 2026 (Effective), PSA: Standard opens at $59.99 per card, 90-100 business days, the lowest open PSA tier while Value stays paused."On September 14, PSA will open a new service level called Standard: $59.99 per card with an estimated 90 to 100 business-day turnaround time" (PSA article: new Standard service level (Sept 9, 2026), read )
- September 9, 2026 (Effective), PSA: Express goes to $199 per card."Starting today, Express will now be priced at $199.00." (PSA article: new Standard service level (Sept 9, 2026), read )
- September 9, 2026 (Announced), PSA: Walk-Through is renamed Premier, $599 per card."Our fastest service level will now be called Premier (previously Walk-Through). Premier is priced at $599 per card" (PSA article: new Standard service level (Sept 9, 2026), read )
- June 2, 2026 (Effective), PSA: Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus and Value Max stop taking new submissions."Effective Tuesday, June 2, 2026 at 3:00 pm PT, we are temporarily pausing new submissions for the four Value service tiers: Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus, and Value Max." (PSA article: service level update (May 2026), read )
- March 24, 2026 (Effective), CGC Cards: CGC Bulk goes to $17 and Economy to $20 per card."On March 24, 2026, CGC® will update its fees for its Bulk grading tier to $17 and its Economy grading tier to $20 for card submissions." (CGC news: Bulk and Economy tier update, read )
How this page is kept
We re-read PSA's tracker and the four graders' price pages every 14 days, after PSA posts a tracker entry, and log any change above. Numbers from third-party trackers are not used. Beckett's grading pages lead to a maintenance notice with no prices, so no Beckett fee is shown.
This page reports fees and queues only. It does not say whether a card is worth grading or what a grade adds to its price.