How to Get Autographs Authenticated (and What It Costs)
To get an autograph authenticated, you send it to PSA/DNA, JSA or Beckett, either by mail through their websites or in person at a big sports memorabilia show. You pay by the signer, anywhere from $10 to a few hundred dollars per item, and you wait about a month unless you pay to rush it.
That's the whole process. The harder question is whether you should, and that comes down to one piece of math most guides skip: is the item worth a lot more than the fee? Here's how each step works, what it really costs right now, and how we'd decide.
First, check whether it's already certified
Before you pay anybody, look for a hologram or sticker with a serial number. It's usually on the item itself, near the signature, and there may be a matching card or letter. If you find one from PSA/DNA, JSA, Beckett or Fanatics, type the number into that company's own lookup and check that the record matches the item in your hands. If it does, you're done. The item is already authenticated and a second opinion won't add much.
If there's no number, or the certificate came from the seller or a company with no searchable database, keep going. That paper doesn't count. Our post on what a COA actually guarantees explains why, and how to tell if an autograph is real covers the checks you can run at home before you spend a dime.
Pick an authenticator
Three companies take autographs from the public, and a cert from any of them is accepted at auction houses, resale sites and by dealers like us.
- PSA/DNA is PSA's autograph division. It's the biggest operation of the three and the name most buyers recognize first.
- JSA (James Spence Authentication) is especially strong on vintage, single-signed baseballs and older paper.
- Beckett Authentication Services prices by signer the same way and issues a label or a full letter depending on the fee.
Fanatics isn't on that list for a reason. Its holograms come from signings it runs itself, so you can't mail it a ball you got signed in a hotel lobby. Our rundown of who authenticates sports autographs goes deeper on each company.
There's no single best choice. If you plan to sell, go with the name buyers in your sport already trust on that kind of item. If you're keeping it, pick whichever one is cheapest for your signer.
What autograph authentication costs
All three set the price by the person who signed, not by the item. A common name costs less to check than a Hall of Famer, because the expensive names get forged more and take more work. Here's what the two biggest fee schedules said in October 2026:
| PSA/DNA | JSA | |
|---|---|---|
| Single signature | $10 to $500, by signer | $25 to $35 basic cert, letters from $50 |
| What you get | Small 3x3 certificate under $50, full letter at $50 and up | Basic cert card, or a full letter with a photo of the item |
| Letter upgrade | $15 | $40 |
| Standard wait | About 30 business days | Varies, rush available |
| Rush | $75 for about 10 business days (1 to 5 items) | $250 for about 3 business days |
A real example: at JSA, a Walter Payton signature is $35 for a basic cert or $75 for a full letter. JSA also flags Payton as a name where premium items like balls and jerseys may need the full letter, so a signed Payton jersey can end up a $75 job, not a $35 one.
Two more charges catch people. PSA/DNA adds a premium-item fee once you declare a value of $1,000 or more, starting at $40 and climbing with the value. And you pay shipping both ways, insured, which on a full-size helmet can cost as much as the authentication. Fees change, so check the company's own fee page before you ship.
How to submit by mail
- Look up your signer's fee on the authenticator's site. Both PSA/DNA and JSA have a search box for this.
- Fill out the submission form online. List every signature on the item, because multi-signed pieces are priced by the most expensive name plus a charge for the rest.
- Declare an honest value. It sets your insurance and, at PSA/DNA, the premium-item fee. Lowballing it to save a few bucks leaves you underinsured if the box gets lost.
- Pack it like it's fragile, because it is. Sleeve photos, put balls in a cube, and double-box helmets with padding on every side so nothing touches the signature.
- Ship it tracked and insured, and keep the receipt. You pay the fees up front, and JSA's mail-in form says they apply whatever the result.
Then wait. A month is normal for standard service. If the item passes, it comes back with a tamper-evident label on it and a certificate or letter carrying the same serial number, and that number goes into the company's online database where any future buyer can look it up.
Getting it done in person at a show
If you'd rather not ship something you care about, all three authenticators set up at major sports memorabilia shows. You hand the item to an authenticator on site, and depending on the line it's done the same day or within a few hours. PSA/DNA mails its letters within about two weeks after the show. You skip the shipping both ways, and nothing goes in a box. Show pricing varies by event, so ask at the table, and each company posts its show schedule on its own site.
If it doesn't pass
A signature that fails comes back without a label or a certificate, and you don't get the fee back. A failure isn't always a ruling that it's fake. Sometimes the authenticator just can't be confident either way, and a smudged or partial signature can end up there. If you got it signed in person and you're certain, it's still yours to enjoy. It just won't carry a cert that a buyer will pay for.
Is it worth getting an autograph authenticated?
Here's how we'd think about it. Authentication makes sense when the item is worth a lot more than the fee and the shipping, when you might sell it one day, or when the signer is one forgers love. A signed Payton jersey, a vintage single-signed ball, a full-size helmet from a quarterback with rings: send those in.
It makes less sense on lower-dollar pieces. That Singletary mini pictured above sells for about $70, with the JSA cert already on it. If you had an uncertified one, a basic cert plus insured shipping both ways would eat close to half of what the whole thing sells for. On items like that, buying one that's already certified is almost always cheaper than certifying your own.
That's also why we don't sell anything that isn't certified. We don't authenticate anything ourselves. Every signed item we sell comes with a serial-numbered hologram from PSA/DNA, JSA, Beckett or Fanatics that you can check in that company's own database, and we won't list a signed piece without one. Our authentication page explains how each authenticator works, and our guide to the risks of buying uncertified autographs covers what happens when you skip this step.
Skip the wait
If you'd rather have the signature and the cert in hand at the same time, every item in our live breaks ships already authenticated. Our 12 full-time breakers go live every day, several times a day, and a spot is a chance to win a signed helmet or jersey, not a guaranteed item. Or open a Mini Helmet Digital Rips box: every one holds a real signed mini helmet with a COA, and you can keep it or cash it out for store credit.
