AAA Certified Shredding
A certificate of destruction is a document provided by your shredding service to confirm that your materials have been properly destroyed. It’s important because it helps your business follow information security laws and protects you during audits and legal matters.
Shred Instead is AAA NAID Certified to perform on-site, mobile document destruction services for Paper/Printed Media & Computer Hard Drives.
What’s in The Certificate?
A certificate of destruction should include:
- 1. Details about the shredding company responsible for destroying the materials.
- 2. Information about you, the customer, whose materials were destroyed.
- 3. Specifics about the destruction project, like where and when it happened, a work order number, and a description of the materials.
- 4. Written confirmation that the materials were indeed destroyed.
When could a Proof of Service (POS) also function as a Certificate of Destruction (COD)?
A POS for on-site services might come in handy during an internal audit or an inspection by an agency where you need evidence of destruction.
If your organization deals with documents containing sensitive and confidential data, you might have a legal or company requirement to securely destroy them according to your document retention policies. While the specific information and regulations vary across industries, here are examples of the kind of data you might consider shredding on-site:
- – Personally identifiable information (PII) like addresses, social security numbers, private health details, or financial data
- – Information protected by privacy laws
- – Confidential corporate information or trade secrets
- – Financial records
- – Old boarding passes
- – Discarded shipping labels
- – Personal photographs
Your shredding provider should always furnish you with a POS, which could also function as a COD if necessary, for any on-site services.
Who Gives You the Certificate?
Your shredding company will issue the certificate of destruction if it’s part of their services. Make sure to confirm with them beforehand if you need one for your project.
Why is it Important?
Certificates of destruction are essential for complying with security standards. They prove that your business is handling and disposing of sensitive information securely. Your customers might ask for these certificates to ensure you’re managing their confidential data responsibly, which helps build trust and loyalty. Certificates also come in handy during audits, providing proof that your organization follows laws and conducts business responsibly.
How to Obtain a Certificate
As your shredding service, we will send you a certificate of destruction after completing the project.
**We are capable of providing a third-party Certificate of Destruction – imagine you are a records storage company, a scanning company, and your work requires you to handle other companies’ data, the possibilities are endless here. Contact us for samples!**