Dynamic Grading Authority (DGA): Complete Guide

In the trading-card hobby, “DGA” most commonly refers to Dynamic Grading Authority, a card grading and encapsulation service operating at dynamicgradingauthority.com (DGA home). Other meanings for “DGA” exist (for example, the Directors Guild of America), but those are unrelated to third-party trading-card grading (Directors Guild of America).

Sources: DGA home, Directors Guild of America

Quick facts

Sources: DGA home, DGA Submit Now, DGA Pop Reports, DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Report Card, DGA Designer Labels, DGA Star Bag, BBB profile

Where Dynamic Grading Authority fits in the grading market

In practice, DGA is positioned as a non-incumbent option versus PSA/BGS/SGC/CGC, with emphasis on:

• Included post-grade documentation (“Report Card” with subgrades/notes) (DGA Report Card)
• A visible verification surface (Serial # Lookup) (DGA Serial # Lookup)
• A public category/search-based Pop Report interface (DGA Pop Reports)
• Lower per-card pricing and a stated “guaranteed turnaround” policy (DGA home, DGA Submit Now)

What DGA does not publish (as of 2025-12-24) is also part of its market position: there is no clear, public grading standards document with numeric tolerances comparable to the public standards pages some larger graders maintain (Unverified for DGA; not found on the official site pages reviewed) (DGA home).

Sources: DGA home, DGA Submit Now, DGA Report Card, DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Pop Reports

Services offered

• Card grading (service tiers): DGA lists multiple service types with different stated turnaround times and per-card prices (DGA Submit Now, DGA home).
• Star Bag service (sealed bag + cards inside): DGA offers combinations of authenticating and grading the bag, and grading/authenticating the top and bottom cards inside (DGA Star Bag).
• Encapsulation-only (no grade/authenticity): DGA offers encapsulation for items they classify as “Fan Art” where they state they cannot grade or authenticate, but will encapsulate to protect the item (DGA Encapsulation Only).
• Memorabilia authentication link (“G.O.A.T. Authentics”): DGA’s site includes a page describing G.O.A.T. Authentics, focused on sports memorabilia signature authentication and letters of authenticity (G.O.A.T. Authentics). The relationship to DGA’s card grading business is Unverified (the page is hosted on DGA’s domain, but the operational integration is not explicitly stated on the page text) (G.O.A.T. Authentics).
• Label options (included): DGA states customers can choose label materials/borders and are “not charged additionally” for the choice (DGA Designer Labels).

Sources: DGA Submit Now, DGA home, DGA Star Bag, DGA Encapsulation Only, DGA Designer Labels, G.O.A.T. Authentics

Grading scale and standards (deep dive)

What DGA explicitly publishes (as text) is process transparency tooling, not a full rubric:

• DGA says every graded card receives a DGA Report Card at no extra charge, including a “full Grader’s Worksheet with subgrades and detailed notes about the condition of your card” (DGA Report Card).
• DGA’s public pages reviewed do not publish a full grading scale definition, numeric tolerances for centering, or specific definitions for corners/edges/surface categories as of 2025-12-24 (Unknown, not found on reviewed official pages) (DGA home, DGA Report Card).

Human vs hybrid vs tech-first process

Unknown. DGA’s public pages reviewed do not describe whether grading is human-only vs computer vision/hybrid as of 2025-12-24 (DGA home).

How to interpret the label (example)

• Serial number: DGA provides a Serial # Lookup page with a “Serial #” input and a “Search” button, indicating the slab serial is intended to be verifiable online (DGA Serial # Lookup).
• Report Card: DGA positions the “Report Card” as the place you should expect the subgrades + detailed notes/worksheet (fields/format are Unknown without a public sample document; DGA states it exists) (DGA Report Card).

Sources: DGA Report Card, DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA home

Slab, label, and security features

Label options

DGA emphasizes label choice as a product feature and says customers “are not charged additionally” for their choice of label design/material (DGA Designer Labels).

Slab security

Unknown / Unverified. On the official pages reviewed, DGA does not publish a detailed anti-counterfeit feature list (for example: holograms, NFC, specific weld style, or QR/security printing) as of 2025-12-24 (DGA home).

Holder / movement control notes

For the Star Bag product, DGA discusses the need to prevent shifting and describes a framing approach where cards “are barely able to shift 1mm or so and can not hit the edges of the Frame/Slab” (context: Star Bag service) (DGA Star Bag).

Label/version changes over time

Unknown. No official public changelog found as of 2025-12-24 (DGA home).

Sources: DGA Designer Labels, DGA Star Bag, DGA home

Verification and data tools

Cert lookup workflow (step-by-step)

1. Go to DGA’s Serial # Lookup page (DGA Serial # Lookup).
2. Enter the slab’s serial number in the “Serial #” field and click “Search” (DGA Serial # Lookup).
3. Compare the returned record to the slab/label in-hand (returned fields are Unknown without a verified sample serial as of 2025-12-24) (DGA Serial # Lookup).

Pop report mechanics and limitations

DGA’s Pop Reports page provides:

• A Category dropdown (sports + TCG/non-sports categories) and
• A required Search text box (“Search by year, manufacturer, set and/or player name”)

…and a results table layout that includes “Category”, “Set”, and “Item/Name” columns (counts-by-grade fields are Unknown from the public page HTML as of 2025-12-24) (DGA Pop Reports).

Registry mechanics

Unknown. No DGA registry/set registry found on DGA’s site as of 2025-12-24 (DGA home).

Grader notes / reports

DGA positions the “Report Card” as including subgrades and “detailed notes about the condition of your card” (DGA Report Card).

Sources: DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Pop Reports, DGA Report Card, DGA home

Pricing and turnaround (how it works, not just numbers)

Pricing model

DGA states its service pricing is based on turnaround time, “not the value of the card” (DGA home).

Turnaround guarantee (as stated)

DGA advertises “GUARANTEED TURNAROUND TIME” and states that if late, you “will be refunded 50% of the submission cost” (DGA home).

Current pricing and stated turnaround (verify before submitting)

Shipping, insurance, declared value rules

Unknown. DGA’s public pages reviewed do not publish detailed shipping/insurance/declared value instructions as of 2025-12-24 (DGA Submit Now, DGA home).

Stated turnaround vs user-reported reality

Unknown. As of 2025-12-24, figoca could not verify enough public user reports in accessible sources to summarize actual turnaround performance at scale (see “Public opinion” section for limitations) (DGA home).

Sources: DGA home, DGA Submit Now

Submission experience

What DGA publicly documents

DGA’s Submit Now page lists service types, stated turnaround, and included features such as “DGA Report Card” and “Your Choice of Label Material and Border” (DGA Submit Now).

Packaging rules + common pitfalls

Unknown. DGA’s official pages reviewed do not publish detailed packaging rules as of 2025-12-24 (for example: required holders, team bags, return shipping requirements) (DGA Submit Now).

If you need DGA-specific instructions, the most reliable path is to contact DGA directly using the contact information surfaced on their site pages (phone/email visible in page content) (DGA home, DGA Report Card).

Sources: DGA Submit Now, DGA home, DGA Report Card

Resale liquidity: what happens on the secondary market

Unverified / limited data. DGA does not publish official resale/liquidity data, and figoca could not verify broad community comp guidance for DGA slabs from accessible sources as of 2025-12-24. Expect the main buyer objections to be:

• “I don’t recognize this slab” (brand awareness risk vs PSA/BGS/SGC/CGC)
• “I can’t interpret the grade without published standards” (standards/rubric gap)
• “How do I verify the serial?” (addressable via Serial # Lookup)

Sellers typically overcome “unknown slab” objections by linking the cert lookup and sharing the Report Card / notes when available (the existence of these tools is documented by DGA; the exact output format is Unknown without a sample serial) (DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Report Card).

Sources: DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Report Card, DGA home

Public opinion: Reddit, X, and hobby communities

What we could verify (limitations)

• X (Twitter): Not accessible from this environment due to 403 Forbidden responses as of 2025-12-24, so figoca could not verify 5+ viewable posts/threads (X access test).
• Reddit: Public Reddit pages and search endpoints returned rate-limit responses (429 Too Many Requests) during verification attempts on 2025-12-24, limiting the ability to reliably collect and verify 5+ threads in this environment (limitation is environmental, not a statement about DGA sentiment).

Because figoca cannot verify enough primary community sources for DGA at publish time, the sentiment summary is Unknown and should be treated as Unverified.

Sources: X access test, DGA home

Controversies, trust signals, and red flags

• Controversies: No specific controversies were verified from accessible reputable hobby/news sources as of 2025-12-24 (Unknown; not a claim of “none exist”) (DGA home).
• Trust signals: DGA offers serial lookup and pop report tooling, which are common trust primitives for newer graders (DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Pop Reports). A third-party business profile exists (useful for address/identity context, but not proof of grading quality) (BBB profile).
• Red flags: DGA does not publish detailed grading standards/rubrics on the pages reviewed as of 2025-12-24 (Unverified; not found), which increases buyer uncertainty versus graders with detailed public standards pages (DGA home).

Sources: DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Pop Reports, BBB profile, DGA home

Who should use Dynamic Grading Authority (and who shouldn’t)

Consider DGA if

• You want lower per-card pricing and a stated turnaround guarantee structure (DGA home, DGA Submit Now).
• You value having subgrades + written notes (Report Card) as part of the deliverable (DGA Report Card).

Avoid DGA if

• You are grading primarily to maximize mainstream resale velocity and buyer recognition in the broadest markets (DGA’s market acceptance is Unverified here due to limited public comps and sentiment sources as of 2025-12-24) (DGA home).
• You require published grading rubrics/tolerances to reduce buyer uncertainty (not found on DGA’s official pages reviewed) (DGA home).

Alternatives (for the “avoid” cases)

• PSA / BGS / SGC: established incumbents with broad buyer recognition (see figoca directory for links and guides) (figoca grading companies).

Sources: DGA home, DGA Submit Now, DGA Report Card, figoca grading companies

Comparison snapshot

Rationale: DGA’s differentiators are documented tools (Report Card, Serial # Lookup, Pop Reports) and a stated turnaround policy, while its mainstream resale/liquidity remains Unverified here due to limited accessible community/marketplace sources at verification time (DGA Report Card, DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Pop Reports, DGA home).

Sources: DGA home, DGA Report Card, DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Pop Reports

FAQs

1. Is DGA legit? DGA operates an official grading website with submission tiers and publishes verification tools (Serial # Lookup, Pop Reports) (DGA home, DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Pop Reports). “Legit” resale acceptance is separate and is Unverified here due to limited accessible market/community sources at verification time.
2. How do I verify a DGA slab? Use the Serial # Lookup page, enter the slab’s serial number, and compare returned details to the item in hand (DGA Serial # Lookup).
3. Does DGA have a pop report? Yes, DGA provides a Pop Reports search interface by category and keywords (DGA Pop Reports).
4. Does DGA provide grader notes? DGA says each graded card receives a Report Card with subgrades and “detailed notes” on condition (DGA Report Card).
5. Does DGA publish grading standards/tolerances?Unknown. No public standards/tolerances document was found on the official pages reviewed as of 2025-12-24 (DGA home).
6. What are DGA’s current pricing tiers? DGA lists $17 (25 calendar days), $30 (10 calendar days), and $10 “PC Only” (15 calendar days) on its site as of 2025-12-24 (DGA Submit Now, DGA home).
7. Does DGA charge extra for label options? DGA states customers are “not charged additionally” for label material/design choice (DGA Designer Labels).
8. What does “PC Only” mean?Unverified. DGA lists “PC Only” as a service option with a stated price and turnaround, but the public page text reviewed does not define the term beyond the name as of 2025-12-24 (DGA home).
9. Does DGA grade sealed Star Co. bags? DGA offers a Star Bag service with combinations of authenticating/grading the bag and grading/authenticating the top/bottom card inside (DGA Star Bag).
10. Does DGA encapsulate items it won’t grade? DGA offers “Encapsulation Only” for items it classifies as “Fan Art,” stating it cannot grade or authenticate those items but can encapsulate to protect them (DGA Encapsulation Only).
11. Will DGA add value vs PSA?Unverified. DGA’s value-add depends on buyer acceptance. DGA provides tooling (lookup/pop reports/report card) but mainstream resale premiums/discounts are not verified here due to limited accessible comps/sentiment sources at verification time (DGA Report Card, DGA Serial # Lookup).
12. How do I submit? Start with DGA’s Submit Now page to choose a service type and confirm current terms/pricing (DGA Submit Now).

Sources: DGA home, DGA Submit Now, DGA Designer Labels, DGA Report Card, DGA Serial # Lookup, DGA Pop Reports, DGA Star Bag, DGA Encapsulation Only

Sources

Official

• DGA home
• DGA Submit Now
• DGA Report Card
• DGA Designer Labels
• DGA Serial # Lookup
• DGA Pop Reports
• DGA Encapsulation Only
• DGA Star Bag
• G.O.A.T. Authentics

Reputable hobby/news

• None verified as of 2025-12-24 (searched via general web discovery, but results were not reliably accessible/verifyable in this environment).

Community sentiment (Reddit/X/forums)

• X blocked (403) during verification: X access test
• Reddit endpoints returned 429 during verification attempts (no reliable thread list could be verified in this environment as of 2025-12-24).

Directories/reference lists

• BBB profile
• Directors Guild of America