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Certificate of Destruction: What Is It and Does your Company Need It

As you try to adhere to compliance standards and document destruction laws, your company will usually need assistance from a professional provider of shredding services. Permanent disposal of paper files or electronic media by a shredding company comes with a certificate of destruction. This certification ensures proper destruction of obsolete information through a highly secure, controlled, and closed-process.

In terms of shredding, here’s what this certificate means:

What is a Certificate of Destruction

This certificate is a formal statement that outlines the steps taken by the document destruction company in disposing of your documents. It guarantees that your business documents were disposed of in accordance with all laws. The best shredding company provides you with this document to let you know that they have taken the necessary steps and are up-to-date on industry standards.

What Information a Certificate of Destruction Contains

 The certificate will contain the following information:

  • Name of the company or person receiving the certificate. This portion of the certificate shows the name of the business or individual that will receive the certification.
  • Name of employee who witnessed the destruction. This is the name of the employee the company assigned to witness the document destruction.
  • Facility information. This includes the name and address of the facility that destroys the documents.

  • Work order number. This is a unique transaction number that will let you locate your work order and establish an audit trail if necessary.
  • Invoice number. This serialized number is added to a certificate of destruction after the order is accepted and the services will be started.
  • Date the documents were received. This refers to the date the transporter received the documents to be destroyed.
  • Document description. This details the specific kind of material to be destroyed.
  • Accuracy statement. This states the accuracy of the certificate’s information.
  • Signature. The certificate must be signed by an authorized representative of the document destruction company.
  • Date of certification. This refers to the date the certificate was issued by the shredding company.

When hiring a shredding company, it’s important to ask about their certificate of destruction. Ensure they provide one that meets your company’s requirements and needs. State and federal privacy laws require most businesses to have a certificate of destruction. Whatever industry you are in, having this certificate will ensure the final step in the document process is in full compliance with privacy laws.

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