What Is an Autograph Grade (Auto Grade)?

An Auto Gradeis a separate numeric score a grading company assigns to the signature on an autographed card, independent of the grade it assigns to the card's condition (centering, corners, edges, surface). A card can come back with two different numbers on the label — for example a 9 for the card and a 10 for the autograph, printed together as something like "9 / AUTO 10."The autograph grade judges the signature itself: how boldly and cleanly it's applied, not whether the card underneath is mint.

• Boldness and ink consistency. A dark, evenly pressured signature grades higher than a faint, scratchy, or fading one.
• Placement.A signature centered in the panel the manufacturer built for it, that doesn't run off the edge of the card or overlap a photo or design element it wasn't meant to cross.
• Legibility and completeness. A full, legible signature grades higher than a rushed scrawl or a partial signature cut short.
• Smearing or smudging. Ink that smeared before drying — common at high-volume signing sessions — counts against the grade even when the card itself is untouched.

These are all judgments about the signature, not the card stock — a card graded a pristine 10 can still carry a mediocre auto grade if the player signed quickly or off-center, and a lower-condition card can carry a perfect auto grade if the signature itself is textbook.

BGS is the grading company most associated with a published, separate numeric Auto Grade — its Black Label and standard tiers both print it alongside the card grade when a card is autographed. Other major graders authenticate the signature as part of certifying the card but don't all publish a distinct public-facing autograph number the same way. Always check the specific grading company's current label format before assuming a card has (or is missing) an Auto Grade — see PSA vs BGS vs SGC vs CSG for how the major companies' approaches differ more broadly, and What Are BGS Subgrades? for how the card-condition side of a BGS label is built.

Buyers shopping autographed cards price against the lower of the two numbers as much as the higher one — a "10 / AUTO 6" often sells closer to what a mid-grade autograph commands than what a gem-mint card would alone, because the signature is usually the reason a collector wanted that specific card. A pristine card with a weak, faint, or off-panel signature is a worse buy than a slightly lower card grade paired with a bold, well-placed signature, for most autograph-focused collectors. When comparing sold prices, match both numbers against comps, not just the headline card grade — see How Much Are My Sports Cards Worth? for pricing off actual sales rather than list price.

Confirm the exact card with Identify & Research — free-path first (on-device OCR, catalog match, and fingerprints). For the basic definition of an autograph card and how the on-card, sticker, and cut formats compare, see What Is an Autograph Card?. For the on-card vs sticker distinction that also affects how a signature is applied and evaluated, see Sticker Auto vs On-Card Auto. For spotting a forged signature before you buy, see How to Tell If a Sports Card Autograph Is Real, and for how authentication services differ from grading companies, see PSA/DNA vs JSA vs Beckett Authentication, or open the full guides library.