ACA Certification is best known in Canadian collecting circles for its card grading, but the company also runs a separate autograph authentication service covering sports, music, film, and political signatures.
Here's how it actually works, and what it costs.
None of this requires prior grading experience.
This is a genuinely distinct service from ACA's card grading, with its own process and pricing.
ACA's process begins with a materials check — a signature made with ink or a pen type that didn't exist during the signer's lifetime is an automatic rejection, regardless of how convincing the signature itself looks. From there, ACA compares the signature against its own database, checking angle, letter shape, and size consistency.
This layered approach catches both anachronistic forgeries and stylistically inconsistent ones using two independent checks.
ACA offers two authentication products: a certificate of authenticity (a 3-inch by 3-inch card with a serial number and basic authenticity text) or a letter of authenticity (a full 8.5x11 page on anti-counterfeiting paper, with a description, photos, and the signer's name). Both let the item's information be verified online afterward.
The letter option is generally the better fit for higher-value items or multi-signature pieces, given its added detail and documentation.
A signed card headed to authentication deserves careful handling both before and after the process. EVORETRO's Graded Card Sleeves protect a small signed item once it's encapsulated.
For a growing collection of authenticated pieces, EVORETRO's Graded Case with Key System keeps everything secure and organized.
A certificate of authenticity for a single signature costs $20, with additional signatures on the same item priced at $20 each for the first two and $3 each after that. A letter of authenticity runs $40 for a single signature, with additional signatures at $40 each for the first two and $4 each after that — both prices include tax.
These rates assume the signer's identity is already known; unidentified signatures add a $75/hour research fee with no guarantee of results.
An autographed item measuring 2.5x3.5 inches or smaller, like a card, cut, or sticker, gets automatically encapsulated in ACA's graded-card cases at the same basic certificate price, routed through the card grading section's authentication-only service rather than the standalone autograph process. This is a useful detail for anyone submitting a small signed card specifically.
Checking which submission path applies before mailing in a small signed item avoids confusion about pricing and turnaround.
If ACA can't confirm a signature's authenticity, the item is returned with a letter explaining that it couldn't be authenticated, rather than a false certification. This honest-rejection policy is itself a reasonable trust signal for the service overall.
Understanding this upfront sets realistic expectations before submitting a signature of uncertain origin.
ACA's materials-first approach — checking that ink and paper match the era a signer was active in — catches a specific, common category of forgery that a purely visual comparison would miss entirely. A skilled forger can replicate letter shapes convincingly, but sourcing period-accurate materials is a much harder bar to clear.
This is part of why ACA's layered process, combining materials analysis with database comparison, is a genuinely more rigorous approach than a single visual check alone.
A signed item with real market value, where the signature itself is a meaningful part of that value, is where authentication pays for itself most clearly — a $40 letter of authenticity is a small cost against a signed item worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. For a low-value signed item bought mainly for personal enjoyment, the cost-benefit calculation looks different.
Weighing the item's actual market value against the authentication cost helps decide whether the certificate or letter option, or skipping authentication altogether, makes the most sense.
Yes, including music, film, and political signatures.
Roughly 20 working days, not including postal delivery time.
The letter includes a fuller description, photos, and is printed on anti-counterfeiting paper; the certificate is a shorter, basic authenticity statement.
It's returned with a letter explaining it couldn't be confirmed as authentic.
Understanding the process before submitting avoids surprises on cost and turnaround. Browse EVORETRO's toploaders and sleeves collection to protect your cards and memorabilia either way.
!
