What Is CGC? What the Name Means and What CGC Does
CGC stands for Certified Guaranty Company. What CGC does, what it grades, what's on a CGC label, and where to learn more about each part.
CGC stands for Certified Guaranty Company. It is an independent grading company that examines comics and other collectibles, assigns a condition grade from 0.5 to 10, and seals each item in a tamper-evident holder with a printed label. CGC says it was founded in 2000 and describes itself as the world's largest third-party grading service.
This guide explains what CGC does, what it grades, and how to read the information on a CGC slab. It also points you to our detailed guides for each part of the label.
What does CGC do?
For a comic, CGC's service has four parts:
- Grading. Professional graders examine the book and assign a grade on CGC's 0.5 to 10 scale.
- Restoration check. CGC checks for restoration. A restored book gets a different label from an unrestored one.
- Encapsulation. The book is sealed in a clear holder that shows if it has been opened. Collectors call this a slab.
- Certification. Each slab gets a unique certification number, printed on the label and recorded in CGC's online database.
Because CGC is a third party, the grade comes from neither the buyer nor the seller.
What does CGC grade?
Comics are CGC's best-known category. CGC's site also lists magazines, trading card games, sports and non-sports cards, video games, home video, movie lobby cards, vintage photographs and concert posters.
At ComicBookPlug, our CGC stock is mostly graded comics, with a separate shelf of graded trading cards.
What's on a CGC label?
This label shows most of what a CGC label can carry:
- Grade and page quality: 9.0, which is VF/NM on CGC's scale, with white pages.
- Title, publisher and date: Wolverine Limited Series #1, Marvel Comics, 9/82.
- Signature line: signed by Joe Rubinstein on 2/21/26. This appears only on signature labels.
- Key comments: "1st solo Wolverine comic. Yukio cameo on last page." CGC adds notes like these on the right side of some labels.
- Certification number: 4717825003, for the online lookup.
Signature Series and CGC x JSA
CGC also certifies autographs. The yellow Signature Series label, which CGC says it introduced in 2001, is for signatures witnessed under CGC's process, like the one above. In 2024 CGC acquired JSA, an autograph authentication company. Autographs that weren't witnessed can now be authenticated and graded together, under a black-and-yellow CGC x JSA label.
Read our CGC Signature Series guide for the difference between the two.
Our CGC guides, by question
| If you want to know… | Read |
|---|---|
| What a graded comic is and how to buy one | What are graded comic books? |
| What the numbers mean | Comic book grading scale |
| What VG, FN, VF and NM stand for | Comic grade abbreviations |
| What CGC 9.8 means | CGC 9.8 explained |
| What each label color means | CGC label colors |
| How to check a slab is genuine | CGC lookup checklist |
| What grader notes say | CGC grader notes |
| How to get your own comic graded | How to get your comic graded by CGC |
Does a CGC slab make a comic valuable?
No. A CGC grade describes condition. It doesn't set a price. Value still depends on the issue, the edition, the grade, any signatures, and how many collectors want that book. A slab makes a comic easier to compare and verify, which matters most for higher-value books.
Quick answer
CGC (Certified Guaranty Company) is an independent company that grades comics and other collectibles on a 0.5 to 10 scale, checks them for restoration, and seals them in tamper-evident holders with a certification number. Its yellow Signature Series and black-and-yellow CGC x JSA labels also certify autographs.