Updated November 2026 · Southern New Hampshire
Medical shredding cost for a small NH practice: per month and per purge
Medical shredding cost comes down to four posted numbers: 99 cents per pound, $20 per banker’s box at 10 or more, $34.90 per job, and a pickup fee by zone. Below you get the totals by box count, by schedule and by purge size, so you can budget a year of patient paper before you book.
99¢ per pound at our Tewksbury drop-off. Certificate of Destruction on every job.
- 99¢ per pound
- $20 per box at 10+
- Since 2007
- HIPAA BAA on request
Quick answer
At New Hampshire Document Shredding, a small NH practice pays 99 cents per pound for paper under 10 boxes (about $29.70 per banker’s box) or $20 per box at 10 or more, plus $34.90 per job, plus $129.95, $159.95 or $199.95 if we pick up. A practice that fills one box a month pays about $41 a month by quarterly drop-off and about $95 a month by quarterly Zone 2 pickup. A one-time purge of 40 boxes costs $834.90 at drop-off or $994.85 with a Zone 2 pickup. Full service details are on our medical shredding service page.
The four numbers behind every medical shredding cost
There is no contract, no monthly minimum and no bin rental on our price list. Each job is priced on its own from the same four parts. Once you know them, you can work out any bill on the back of an envelope.
| Part of the bill | Price | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Shredding by weight | 99 cents per pound | Any job under 10 boxes. A banker’s box of paper weighs about 30 pounds. |
| Shredding by the box | $20 per large (banker’s) box, $15 per small box | Jobs of 10 boxes or more |
| HIPAA filing fee | $14.95 | Every job. Covers the Certificate of Destruction paperwork. |
| Environmental fee | $19.95 | Every job. Covers recycling all of the shredded paper. |
| Transportation fee | Zone 1 $129.95, Zone 2 $159.95, Zone 3 $199.95 | Pickups only. Assumes ground-level or elevator access. |
| Witnessed rate | $1.99 per pound, $100 minimum | Only when you book a witnessed session |
Two worked examples from our price sheet: 50 pounds dropped off comes to $49.50 plus $34.90, or $84.40. One hundred pounds comes to $99.00 plus $34.90, or $133.90. The same arithmetic runs through every table on this page.
Hard drives, x-ray film, imaging CDs and old phones are not part of the paper price. They are physically destroyed and quoted per item, so put them in a separate bag and mention them when you book.
Per pound or per box: where the medical shredding cost line falls
Under 10 boxes, you pay by weight. At 10 boxes, the flat $20 rate starts. Because a full banker’s box weighs about 30 pounds, a box priced by the pound costs roughly $29.70, so the box rate is the better deal per box. That creates a quirk worth knowing.
| Banker’s boxes | How it is priced | Shredding | Total with $34.90 per job |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | About 30 lb at 99¢ | $29.70 | $64.60 |
| 2 | About 60 lb at 99¢ | $59.40 | $94.30 |
| 3 | About 90 lb at 99¢ | $89.10 | $124.00 |
| 5 | About 150 lb at 99¢ | $148.50 | $183.40 |
| 7 | About 210 lb at 99¢ | $207.90 | $242.80 |
| 9 | About 270 lb at 99¢ | $267.30 | $302.20 |
| 10 | $20 per box | $200.00 | $234.90 |
| 12 | $20 per box | $240.00 | $274.90 |
| 20 | $20 per box | $400.00 | $434.90 |
Look at rows 7 to 10. Under the posted rates, seven full boxes cost more than ten. If your back room holds seven, eight or nine boxes, wait a few weeks for a tenth or add the expired files you were going to purge next quarter. Your actual weight decides it, since a box of loose forms can weigh less than a box of packed charts.
Small boxes follow the same rule. At 10 or more they are $15 each, and a mix of large and small boxes is priced box by box. Under 10, they go on the scale with everything else.
Medical shredding cost per month, by schedule
The per-job fees and the pickup fee are charged once per job, whatever the size. That makes the schedule the biggest lever on your monthly cost. The table below takes one practice that fills about one banker’s box a month, 12 a year, and prices four ways to shred it.
| Schedule | Per job | Drop-off per year | Drop-off per month | Zone 2 pickup per year | Zone 2 per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly, 1 box | $64.60 | $775.20 | $64.60 | $2,694.60 | $224.55 |
| Quarterly, 3 boxes | $124.00 | $496.00 | $41.33 | $1,135.80 | $94.65 |
| Twice a year, 6 boxes | $213.10 | $426.20 | $35.52 | $746.10 | $62.18 |
| Once a year, 12 boxes | $274.90 | $274.90 | $22.91 | $434.85 | $36.24 |
On paper the yearly job is cheapest, but it means 12 boxes of patient files sitting in your office for up to a year. That is a lot of PHI to keep behind one lock. Our recommendation for most small practices is quarterly. It keeps the stack to three or four boxes, and it costs about $41 a month if someone drives the boxes down.
Monthly pickups are almost never worth it for an office this size. You would pay the Zone 2 fee twelve times to move one box each time. If your volume really is one box a month and nobody can drive, book a pickup twice a year and keep the boxes locked in between.
When a pickup is worth the zone fee
The transport fee is the same whether we load one box or forty. For a small job it can be most of the bill. For a large job it shrinks to a few dollars per box.
So the real question is what an hour of your staff’s time is worth and how far you are from Tewksbury. A drop-off means someone packs the car, drives down Route 38 or I-93, and hands the boxes over at our counter, where staff help unload and weigh them.
Drop-off paper is shredded the same business day it arrives. That speed matters less than it sounds for a practice, since the boxes are sealed either way, but it does mean the paper spends less time anywhere but your locked room and our office.
Zone 1, $129.95
Border towns such as Salem, Pelham, Windham and Plaistow. You are about 15 minutes from our door via I-93 or Route 38. Drive anything under 10 boxes. Book a pickup for a basement cleanout.
Zone 2, $159.95
Greater Nashua and Manchester. A round trip with unloading takes a staff member out for a good part of an afternoon. Pickup starts to make sense from about five boxes, and clearly at ten or more.
Zone 3, $199.95
The Seacoast and points farther north. The drive is long enough that most practices book the pickup and batch twice a year. A town not named here gets its zone confirmed when you book.
Pickup prices assume ground-level or elevator access. If your records are on the second floor of an old building with no elevator, a handling fee applies and is quoted up front, before the job is booked. Our post on pickup zones and distance explains how zones are set, and the off-site shredding page covers how a pickup day works.
A pickup still ends at our Tewksbury office. The driver collects your sealed boxes by appointment, and the paper is shredded after it arrives. Nothing is shredded in a truck at your curb.
What a one-time records purge costs
Purges are different from routine shredding. It happens when charts pass their retention date in bulk, when a practice moves or merges, or when a retiring physician closes the doors. Volume is high, so the $20 box rate applies and the fixed fees fade into the background.
| Purge size | Drop-off | Zone 1 pickup | Zone 2 pickup | Zone 3 pickup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 boxes | $434.90 | $564.85 | $594.85 | $634.85 |
| 40 boxes | $834.90 | $964.85 | $994.85 | $1,034.85 |
| 60 boxes | $1,234.90 | $1,364.85 | $1,394.85 | $1,434.85 |
At 40 boxes dropped off, you pay about $20.87 per box all in. With a Zone 2 pickup, it is about $24.87 per box. Few practices have a vehicle that holds 40 banker’s boxes, so for a purge this size the pickup is usually the sensible call.
Before any purge, confirm that every chart in the pile is past its retention date. For physicians, the NH Board of Medicine rule Med 501.02(f)(8) requires keeping a complete copy of patient records “for at least 7 years from the date of the patient’s last contact with the licensee.” Dental records follow RSA 317-A:27-a, which also sets 7 years from the last treatment and 7 years past the age of majority for minors. A wrong shred costs far more than any invoice.
Our medical practice records purge plan walks through the retention check, packing and scheduling for a small office step by step.
Witnessed shredding: what the premium buys
Witnessed shredding costs $1.99 per pound with a $100 minimum on the shredding charge, plus the same $34.90 per job. You book a time, bring the boxes to Tewksbury, and watch them go through the shredder. The certificate is signed in front of you.
| Amount | Standard drop-off | Witnessed | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 box, about 30 lb | $64.60 | $134.90 ($100 minimum applies) | $70.30 |
| 2 boxes, about 60 lb | $94.30 | $154.30 | $60.00 |
| 3 boxes, about 90 lb | $124.00 | $214.00 | $90.00 |
| 5 boxes, about 150 lb | $183.40 | $333.40 | $150.00 |
The $100 minimum covers roughly the first 50 pounds, so anything under about 50 pounds costs the same to witness. If you are going to pay the minimum anyway, bring everything that qualifies.
Where witnessing earns its price: a small amount of very sensitive paper, a practice owner who wants to sign off personally at a closing, or records tied to a legal matter. For routine charts and billing paper, standard drop-off or pickup with a certificate is the better value. Our witnessed shredding page explains how a session is booked.
Five ways to lower your medical shredding cost
- Batch your jobsEvery job carries $34.90 in fees, and every pickup carries a zone fee. Four jobs a year cost much less than twelve for the same paper.
- Reach ten boxes when you are closeSeven to nine boxes priced by the pound can cost more than ten at $20 each. Hold the job until the tenth box is full.
- Skip the staple pullingYou do not need to remove staples, paper clips, binder clips, rubber bands or file folders. Only three-ring binder hardware and hanging-folder frames come out.
- Drive when you are near the lineFrom Salem, Pelham or Windham, a drop-off saves the $129.95 Zone 1 fee on every job. Staff help you unload, and parking is free.
- Separate the media up frontBag drives, film and phones apart from the paper. They are quoted per item, and sorting them at our counter slows everything down.
None of these touch the security of the job. The paper still goes from your locked room to our Tewksbury office, gets cross-cut shredded and recycled, and you still get the certificate.
What the per-job fee buys you
Practices sometimes ask why there is a fee on top of the pound rate. The $14.95 HIPAA filing fee pays for the Certificate of Destruction paperwork on every job, and the $19.95 environmental fee pays for baling and recycling all of the shredded paper. Nothing goes to a landfill or a dumpster.
The certificate is the part an auditor cares about. HIPAA requires covered entities to keep required documentation “for six years from the date of its creation or the date when it last was in effect, whichever is later,” under 45 CFR 164.530(j)(2). File each certificate with your disposal policy and a short log of what went out. Our page on the certificate of destruction shows what it contains.
We also sign a Business Associate Agreement on request, which covers the contract requirement in 45 CFR 164.504(e). Ask for it at booking. Dental practices have a few extra wrinkles on film and closings, covered in our guide to dental office shredding, and a Zone 2 example for a real office size is in our post on medical office shredding in Nashua. Non-medical jobs follow the same arithmetic, set out on our shredding rates page.
Frequently asked questions
What does medical shredding cost per box?
Under 10 boxes, paper is priced at 99 cents per pound, and a full banker’s box weighs about 30 pounds, so about $29.70 a box. At 10 boxes or more, the rate is $20 per large box or $15 per small box. Every job adds $34.90 in per-job fees, and a pickup adds $129.95, $159.95 or $199.95 by zone.
How much should a small practice budget per month?
A practice that fills about one banker’s box a month and drops off quarterly pays $124.00 per job, or about $41 a month. The same practice using a Zone 2 pickup each quarter pays $283.95 per job, about $95 a month. Shredding twice a year by Zone 2 pickup brings that to about $62 a month.
Is there a contract or a monthly minimum?
No. There are no long-term contracts and no monthly minimum. Each job is priced on its own: the pound or box rate, $34.90 in per-job fees, and a zone fee if we pick up. Witnessed sessions have a $100 minimum on the shredding charge. You book when your boxes are ready, online or at (978) 636-0301.
Why can seven boxes cost more than ten?
Under 10 boxes we price by weight at 99 cents per pound, about $29.70 for a full banker’s box. At 10 boxes the flat $20 rate starts. Seven full boxes by weight come to $242.80 with fees, while ten boxes at the box rate come to $234.90. If you are close to ten, it usually pays to wait.
What does a 40-box records purge cost?
Forty banker’s boxes at $20 each come to $800, plus $34.90 in per-job fees, so $834.90 at our Tewksbury drop-off. A Zone 1 pickup brings it to $964.85, Zone 2 to $994.85 and Zone 3 to $1,034.85. Confirm every chart in the pile is past its retention date before you book.
Do hard drives and x-ray film cost extra?
Yes. Drives, x-ray film, imaging CDs, USB sticks and phones are not paper, so they are physically destroyed and quoted per item. Put them in a separate bag and list them when you book so we can price them before the job. The paper in the same job is still priced by the pound or the box.
Is witnessed shredding worth the extra cost for a practice?
For routine charts, usually not. Witnessed shredding is $1.99 per pound with a $100 minimum, plus $34.90, so two boxes cost $154.30 against $94.30 at standard drop-off. It makes sense for very sensitive files, records tied to a legal matter, or an owner who wants to sign off in person at a closing.
Do we get a Business Associate Agreement and a certificate?
Yes. We sign a Business Associate Agreement on request, and every job includes a Certificate of Destruction, covered by the $14.95 HIPAA filing fee within the $34.90 per-job fees. File the certificate with your HIPAA records, which the Privacy Rule asks you to keep for six years.
Sources
- eCFR: 45 CFR 164.530, safeguards and documentation retention (checked November 2026)
- eCFR: 45 CFR 164.504, business associate contracts (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire General Court: Board of Medicine rules, Med 501.02 (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire RSA 317-A:27-a, Dental Records (checked November 2026)
Price your next job before you pack it
Count your boxes, pick drop-off, pickup or witnessed, and book a time that suits your schedule. Ask for our Business Associate Agreement at booking, and we will confirm your zone and any handling fee before the job.
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.