The professional terms that govern authentication, grading, encapsulation and certification services provided by Cards Authentication Lab.
Cards Authentication Lab ("CAL") provides independent authentication, condition assessment, grading, encapsulation, and certification services for trading cards. A CAL grade represents the professional opinion of CAL at the time of examination.
A CAL grade is not a guarantee of market value, future value, or liquidity. It is a documented, standards-based assessment produced by our laboratory workflow.
Only legally owned items may be submitted to CAL. By submitting an item, the customer confirms they hold the legal right to submit, transport, and receive each item.
CAL reserves the right to reject or hold, without grading, any item that is prohibited, counterfeit, stolen, illegal, or otherwise suspected of being unlawfully sourced.
Every submission moves through a defined laboratory workflow:
CAL may use artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies to improve grading consistency, efficiency, and defect detection.
AI-generated output is advisory only. Every final grade is reviewed and approved by a qualified CAL grader. AI never assigns a final grade on its own.
Grading is performed based on CAL's grading standards and the professional judgment of our graders and quality control team.
Minor differences between grading companies are expected and normal. A final grade cannot be challenged solely on the basis that another grading company would, or did, assign a different grade.
If a card cannot be conclusively authenticated, or appears altered, counterfeit, trimmed, recolored, restored, cleaned in a way that affects surface characteristics, or otherwise modified, CAL may decline to assign a numerical grade.
In such cases CAL will instead issue an appropriate designation in accordance with CAL standards, documented on the certificate.
Customers are responsible for accurately declaring the value of each submitted card. Declared value is used for insurance, shipping, and service-tier purposes only, and does not influence the assigned grade in any way.
Cards must be packaged according to CAL's official submission guidelines — a rigid toploader and appropriate outer protection. CAL is not responsible for damage caused by improper packaging prior to arrival at the laboratory.
Customers assume all risk of loss or damage until the shipment is physically received and logged into CAL's inventory system.
Return-shipment risk transfers to the customer or their nominated courier the moment the package is handed over to that courier.
Estimated turnaround times are not guaranteed. Actual timelines may vary due to submission volume, holidays, quality control cycles, customs, shipping delays, or other circumstances outside CAL's reasonable control.
All grading fees become non-refundable once grading work has begun.
Shipping charges, customs fees, taxes, insurance, and any additional services requested by the customer remain the customer's responsibility.
A reholder request replaces the physical holder only. If the customer requests a re-evaluation of the card, CAL reserves the right to assign a different grade should current grading standards or the card's current condition warrant it.
CAL may photograph, scan, or digitally capture every submitted item. By submitting, the customer grants CAL permission to use these images and associated card data for certification, verification, internal records, educational materials, marketing, and population reports — except where prohibited by law.
Every graded card receives a unique certification number and QR code. Certificates may be verified at any time through CAL's official public verification database.
CAL may publish anonymized grading statistics, certification numbers, and card population data in aggregate. No personal customer information will ever be displayed publicly in a population report.
CAL exercises reasonable care in handling every submitted item. Liability for loss or damage is limited to the declared value of the item, or to the maximum amount permitted under CAL's official policies, except where a higher level of liability is required by applicable law.
Customer personal information is stored securely and used solely for grading operations, customer service, order management, and legal obligations. CAL does not sell customer personal information to any third party.
Submitting items to CAL constitutes acceptance of these Terms & Conditions, together with CAL's grading standards, submission guidelines, pricing policies, and any future updates published on the official CAL website.
CAL grading represents the professional opinion of Card Authentication Lab at the time of examination. Trading card grading is inherently subjective, and opinions may differ between grading companies. CAL strives for consistency through standardized procedures, advanced imaging technology, AI-assisted analysis, and expert human review.
Our team is available to walk you through packaging, service tiers, and turnaround before your cards leave your hands.
