What is a Certificate of Destruction & How Do You Obtain One? | Data Slayer

A Certificate of Destruction (COD) is a document containing confirmation that your sensitive and confidential data stored on hard drives has been destroyed. Every Data Slayer customer receives one confirming that their material has been destroyed. A COD will typically include information such as the type of shredding service received, the date service occurred, the location of service, order/customer number, and similar details.

What to look for on a Certificate of Destruction

While Certificates of Destruction differ slightly, critical information must be included to comply as an official proof of destruction record. Example information to look for:

• Id number for the job or transaction
• Business name performing shredding service
• Customer information
• Name and signature of the data destruction witness
• Date and location the data was collected
• Data destruction timestamp with location ID
• Chain of custody description and transfer of responsibility
• Regulation notes required by your specific industry

When might you want a Certificate of Destruction?

A COD for on-site services may be helpful in the event of an internal audit or agency inspection where you require proof of destruction.

If your organization handles documents that contain sensitive and confidential information, you may be under an obligation, either by law or company policy, to securely destroy them consistent with your document retention guidelines. Although the type of information at issue and the applicable requirements or best practices vary by industry, these are the types of information that you may want to consider shredding via on-site destruction:

• Personally identifiable information (PII) such as addresses, social security numbers, private health information, or financial information
• Information protected by privacy laws
• Corporate trade secrets
• Financial details
• Old boarding passes
• Discarded shipping labels
• Personal photos

How Mobile Hard Drive Shredding Works

Mobile shredding offers secure hard drive destruction services at your location. For some organizations, on-site shredding service is a preferred option.

Whether it’s because of corporate policy or for the peace of mind that comes with seeing sensitive data destroyed in person, Data Slayer offers an on-site, mobile document shredding service designed to meet the unique needs of your organization.

Here’s what you can expect from Data Slayer’s mobile shredding services:

• Secure mobile shredding services on your business premises
• Our representative comes to your location during a scheduled time
• All drives are scanned and recorded against client inventory lists before shredding.
• All hard drives are destroyed while the mobile shredding truck is on site at your location
• You receive a Certificate of Destruction, verifying your hard drives have been securely destroyed

Learn more about Data Slayer’s secure hard drive destruction services and how we can help keep your business’s data safe.