Has your business ever been asked to prove that certain documents no longer exist?

It can happen… and the best way to provide proof would be to pull out an official certificate of destruction verifying exactly when and where document destruction occurred.

Of course, destroying documents that are no longer needed is a very important part of compliance with privacy rules and legislation. And, in North America, there’s a lot of them. In the United States, for example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects a person’s privacy; the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) protects consumers from identity theft. In Canada, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) protects personal information.

Privacy legislation, in effect, stipulates that once confidential information is no longer needed, it must be securely destroyed. Shredding documents (and e-media) is the preferred method because after documents have been shredded, they can’t be pieced back together again.

But the other important aspect of compliance that people don’t always think about is the need for documentation – of what and when sensitive documents were destroyed.

To be compliant, your business must be able to prove that documents have been destroyed.

The simplest way to do that?

Partner with a Citshred that understands privacy legislation in your industry and provides certificates of destruction each and every time it services your location. Also, be sure to keep certificates of destruction on record.

Just in case you may have to prove it one day.