Updated November 2026 · Southern New Hampshire
Chain of custody shredding: where your boxes go after you hand them over
Chain of custody shredding is the record of every step your paper takes from your hands to the shredder at our Tewksbury office. Here is each step for New Hampshire households, executors and office managers, and what the Certificate of Destruction at the end actually proves.
99¢ per pound at our Tewksbury drop-off. Certificate of Destruction on every job.
- 1 shredding location
- Since 2007
- BBB A+ rated
- HIPAA BAA on request
Quick answer
Chain of custody shredding means every handoff of your paper is controlled and recorded until it is destroyed. At New Hampshire Document Shredding the chain is short: you hand sealed boxes to staff at 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, or to our driver with a box count you both agree on, the boxes are weighed and logged, kept in locked handling, cross-cut shredded at that office (drop-off paper the same business day), baled and recycled. A Certificate of Destruction is issued for every job. It is the same process behind all of our residential shredding, with one building and one shredder at the end.
What chain of custody shredding means
Chain of custody is a simple idea borrowed from evidence handling. At every moment between your filing cabinet and the shredder, one specific person or place is responsible for your paper, and every change of hands is recorded. If anyone asks later where a box went, there is an answer for each step.
The weak points are always the handoffs. A box that sits unattended in a hallway, rides in a vehicle nobody locks, waits in a third-party warehouse or gets passed between two companies has more chances to go missing or be opened. A good chain has few handoffs, and each one is visible.
What the chain covers
Who had the boxes, where they were, when they changed hands, how much material there was, where and how it was destroyed, and what happened to the shred afterward. The certificate at the end summarizes the job.
What it does not cover
What happened to the paper before you sealed the box. If a statement sat in an open recycling bin for a week first, no vendor can fix that. Your part of the chain starts in your own house or office.
Our version is deliberately short. We shred at one place only, our office in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, a short drive south of the New Hampshire line. We have no drop box, kiosk or office in New Hampshire and no shredder parked at your curb. Your boxes go from you to us, and from us into the shredder.
Your part of the chain, before the handoff
Most of what goes wrong with sensitive paper happens before a shredding company ever touches it. The good news is that your part takes a roll of tape and ten minutes of planning.
- Pack paper into lidded boxes and tape them shut. A taped box makes it obvious if one has been opened.
- Keep the boxes somewhere locked or at least private until they leave: a closet, an office, a locked garage. Not a porch or a hallway by the back door.
- Count the boxes and write the number down. That count is the first link in the chain.
- Pick one person to hand them over. In an office that is usually the office manager. For an estate it is the executor.
- Bag hard drives, phones and CDs separately and list them when you book. They are physically destroyed and quoted per item.
You do not need to pull staples, paper clips, binder clips, rubber bands or file folders, which keeps fewer hands and eyes on the pages. Our shredding pickup checklist puts all of this on one printable page.
Chain of custody shredding step by step at our Tewksbury office
Here is what happens to a drop-off job from the counter to the certificate. A pickup follows the same steps once the boxes reach the office, with one extra handoff at your door, covered in the next section.
- You hand the boxes to our staffWalk in Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with no appointment. Staff help you unload from free parking out front and take the boxes from you at the counter.
- Weighed and logged on the jobYour boxes are weighed and recorded on your job. The weight sets the price, 99 cents per pound under 10 boxes, and it is part of the record of what you handed over.
- Held in locked handlingFrom the counter, your paper goes into our locked handling area inside the office. It does not go to another company or another building first.
- Cross-cut shredded at 1215 Main StreetDrop-off paper is shredded at our Tewksbury office the same business day. Cross-cut shredding turns pages into small particles rather than long strips.
- Baled and recycledAll of the shredded paper is baled and sent for recycling. Nothing from the job goes into a dumpster.
- Certificate of Destruction issuedA certificate is issued for the job. File it with the records it replaces, or with your estate or HIPAA paperwork.
For the mechanical side of the same process, such as what cross-cut means and what happens to the bale, read our post on how document shredding works. The custody story and the machinery story are two views of the same day.
How the chain differs for drop-off, pickup and witnessed
All three services end in the same place. What changes is the first link: who moves the boxes, and who watches the shredding. Pick the route that matches how much of the chain you want to see for yourself.
| Route | First handoff | When it is shredded | Who sees the shredding | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drop-off | You to our staff at the Tewksbury counter | The same business day | Our staff | 99¢ per lb, or $15 / $20 per box at 10+, plus $34.90 |
| Off-site pickup | You to our driver at your door, with a box count both sides agree on | After the boxes arrive at the office | Our staff | Same rate plus $129.95, $159.95 or $199.95 by zone, plus $34.90 |
| Witnessed | You bring the boxes to the office by appointment | While you watch | You, with the certificate signed in front of you | $1.99 per lb, $100 minimum, plus $34.90 |
For a pickup, the door handoff matters most. Our driver and your named person count the boxes together, and the agreed number is signed before anything goes into the vehicle. After that, the boxes go to our office and nowhere else. Our off-site shredding page covers zones and access fees, and our post on when you need witnessed shredding helps you decide whether watching is worth the trip.
What the Certificate of Destruction proves, and what it does not
The certificate is the last link, and the only one most people ever look at again. It is our signed statement that the material on your job was destroyed at our Tewksbury office. It comes with every job, covered by the $14.95 HIPAA filing fee that is part of the $34.90 per-job fees.
What it proves
That the material you handed over on that job was destroyed by New Hampshire Document Shredding, at our office, as part of a recorded job. With a witnessed session, it was signed in front of you.
What it does not prove
What was inside each box page by page, what you kept, or that your records were past their retention period. It also cannot speak for paper that never reached us, such as pages left in a recycling bin.
What to check on yours
That it carries the name you booked under. If a business or estate name needs to appear instead of yours, say so when you book, so the certificate matches the records it will sit next to.
Keep your own short log next to it: the date, the number of boxes and what date range of records went out. The certificate plus your log tells the whole story to an auditor, an estate attorney or a future you. Our page on the certificate of destruction covers how long to keep it and where to file it.
Where chains of custody usually break
When paper goes missing, it is rarely at the shredder. It is in the waiting. These are the spots we would check first in any home or office, ours included.
The staging pile
Boxes left by a back door, in an open garage or in a shared hallway for days before pickup. Stage them only on the day, behind a locked door.
The open shred bin
An uncovered “to shred” tote in a break room or kitchen invites browsing. Use a lidded box or a locked console, and empty it on a schedule.
Too many hands
Every extra person who moves a box is another link. Name one person to pack, count and hand over, and keep the count on paper.
An unknown last step
If you cannot say where the paper was destroyed and who did it, the chain has a gap. Ask any vendor, us included, before you hand anything over.
Free community shred days can be a sensible option for a box or two, but ask the host what happens after your box goes into the bin and whether you get anything in writing. Paperwork expectations vary by event, so check with the host rather than assuming.
Which rules expect a documented chain of custody
For a household, chain of custody is good sense. For many businesses it is also what the rules expect. We do not give legal advice, but these are the rules our customers most often bring up at the counter.
| Rule | Who it applies to | What it says about disposal |
|---|---|---|
| FTC Disposal Rule, 16 CFR Part 682 | Anyone who uses consumer reports for a business purpose: landlords, employers, lenders, insurers, auto dealers, attorneys | Take reasonable measures. Examples include burning, pulverizing or shredding paper so it cannot practicably be read or reconstructed, or hiring a record destruction company after due diligence. |
| HIPAA, 45 CFR 164.530(c), with a Business Associate Agreement under 164.502(e) and 164.504(e) | Medical, dental and therapy practices and their business associates | Reasonable safeguards for patient information, including at disposal. We sign a BAA on request. |
| GLBA Safeguards Rule, 16 CFR Part 314 | Financial institutions, including tax preparers | A written information security program, including procedures for the secure disposal of customer information in any format, generally no later than two years after it was last used, with listed exceptions (314.4(c)(6)). |
| NH RSA 359-C:20, notice of security breach | Anyone doing business in New Hampshire who owns or licenses computerized personal information | Breach notice duties. The statute speaks to computerized data, so paper disposal leans on the federal rules above and on good practice. |
The FTC’s own business guidance on the Disposal Rule lists due diligence steps for picking a destruction company, such as checking references and reviewing the company’s information security policies. A short, visible chain makes that review easy. Our guides on the FACTA disposal rule and HIPAA shredding requirements go deeper.
Questions to ask any shredding company about custody
You should be able to get a straight answer to each of these in one phone call. Here are ours, so you can compare.
- Where exactly is my paper shredded? Ours: at 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA, and nowhere else.
- Does it pass through another company or warehouse first? Ours: no. It goes from you to our office.
- How is a pickup counted and signed? Ours: the driver and your named person agree on the box count at the door before loading.
- When is it shredded? Ours: drop-off paper the same business day. Pickup material after it arrives at the office. We never promise a pickup on the day you call.
- What happens to the shred? Ours: all of it is baled and recycled.
- What do I get at the end? Ours: a Certificate of Destruction for every job, with a Business Associate Agreement available on request for HIPAA customers.
Our post on questions to ask a shredding company has the longer list, including pricing questions. If you want to talk through a specific job, call (978) 636-0301.
Frequently asked questions
What does chain of custody mean in document shredding?
It means every handoff of your paper, from your hands to the shredder, is controlled and recorded, so there is an answer for where each box was at every step. At New Hampshire Document Shredding, boxes go from you to our staff or driver, are weighed and logged, kept in locked handling and cross-cut shredded at our Tewksbury office, then baled and recycled.
Where is my paper shredded?
At one place only: our office at 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, about 15 minutes south of the New Hampshire line. We have no shredding location, drop box or kiosk in New Hampshire and no shredder at your curb. Pickup boxes are brought straight to that office and shredded there after they arrive.
How soon is my paper shredded after I hand it over?
Drop-off paper is shredded at our Tewksbury office the same business day it reaches the counter. Pickup material is shredded after it arrives at the office. With a witnessed session, it is shredded while you watch. Pickups are booked by appointment, so book ahead if you have a deadline such as a house closing.
What does the Certificate of Destruction prove?
It is our signed statement that the material on your job was destroyed at our office. It does not list each page or prove what you kept, so keep your own log of dates, box counts and record ranges with it. If the certificate needs to show a business or estate name, tell us when you book.
How is a pickup counted?
Our driver and the person you name count the boxes together at your door, and the agreed number is signed before anything is loaded. Write your own count down before the driver arrives so the handoff takes a minute. If the count changes after booking, call (978) 636-0301 so the quote and the plan still match.
Is witnessed shredding a stronger chain of custody?
It removes the trust step, because you see the paper go into the shredder yourself and the certificate is signed in front of you. It costs $1.99 per pound with a $100 minimum, plus $34.90 in per-job fees, and is booked by appointment at our Tewksbury office. Five banker’s boxes come to $333.40.
Do you sign a Business Associate Agreement?
Yes. New Hampshire Document Shredding signs a Business Associate Agreement on request for covered entities and business associates under HIPAA. Ask for it when you book and have it signed before the first boxes leave your practice. Keep it with your certificates and disposal policy so the whole chain is documented in one place.
Do I need to remove staples before handing boxes over?
No. You do not need to remove staples, paper clips, binder clips, rubber bands or file folders. Do remove three-ring binder hardware, hanging-folder frames and anything that is not paper. Less sorting means fewer people handling the pages before they are sealed, which keeps your end of the chain tighter.
Sources
- govinfo.gov: 16 CFR Part 682, Disposal of Consumer Report Information and Records (checked November 2026)
- FTC: Disposing of Consumer Report Information? Rule Tells How (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire General Court: RSA 359-C:20, notice of security breach (checked November 2026)
- govinfo.gov: 16 CFR Part 314, Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (checked November 2026)
Hand it over once, and know where it went
Walk your boxes into our Tewksbury office on any weekday, book a pickup with a signed count at your door, or watch the shredding yourself. Every route ends at the same shredder and the same Certificate of Destruction.
Visit or call
1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876. Route 38 near the I-495 interchange, about 15 minutes south of the NH line. Free parking out front.
Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Witnessed sessions and pickups outside these hours by appointment.
Three ways to shred: walk-in drop-off at 99¢ per pound, pickup by zone, or a witnessed session at $1.99 per pound.
New Hampshire Document Shredding · 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876 · (978) 636-0301 · Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.