Updated November 2026 · Southern New Hampshire
How to shred medical records at home: what to keep and what to destroy
If you are wondering how to shred medical records at home, start by sorting, not shredding: some papers you keep for years, some can go today, and pill bottles need a marker, not a blade. This guide is for patients and caregivers in New Hampshire, with a simple keep list, a step-by-step method and what to do when the pile is too big for a home shredder.
99¢ per pound at our Tewksbury drop-off. Certificate of Destruction on every job.
- 99¢ per pound
- Since 2007
- BBB A+ rated
- Weekdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Quick answer
To shred medical records at home, keep anything tied to an open claim, a recent tax return or your lifetime health history, then run the rest (paid bills, matched EOBs, visit summaries, old insurance cards) through a cross-cut shredder, and black out pill bottle labels with a marker. The FTC advises patients to shred documents with medical information before throwing them away. For more than a home shredder can handle, New Hampshire Document Shredding takes household paper at its Tewksbury drop-off for 99 cents per pound plus $34.90 per job, so a 30-pound box costs about $64.60.
Why medical paperwork is worth shredding
A bank statement shows what you have. A medical statement shows who you are: your name, your date of birth, your insurance member number and, often, what you were treated for. That mix is what a thief needs to bill a health plan in your name.
The Federal Trade Commission calls this medical identity theft. In its consumer guidance, it describes someone using “your name, Social Security number, health insurance account number or Medicare number” to get care, prescriptions or insurance payouts. The damage can show up as bills you do not owe or as wrong entries in your own medical record.
Its advice on paper is plain. Keep medical, insurance and billing documents in a safe place, and when you decide to get rid of them, “shred them before you throw them away.” A curbside recycling bin is not a safe place. Our post on identity theft from trash explains why.
This guide is for households. If you run a clinic or an office, HIPAA adds its own rules, and our medical shredding service page is written for practices.
One more point from the FTC that people miss: if statements with medical information come by mail, take your mail out of the mailbox as soon as you can. A pile of envelopes in a mailbox with no lock at the end of the driveway is the easiest target of all.
Which medical papers to shred at home
Most households build up the same few kinds of medical paper. Insurers mail statements after every visit. Pharmacies staple information sheets to every bag. Clinics hand you a visit summary on the way out. Within a year, that is a full drawer.
None of it needs to be kept forever. The goal is to hold each piece until it has done its job, then destroy it in a way nobody can read. Anything with your name next to a member number, an account number or a diagnosis belongs in the shred pile once you are done with it.
Caregivers get double the paper, because a parent’s mail often comes to your house too. Sort the two people’s papers into separate folders before you start, so nothing of theirs gets shredded by mistake.
Explanations of benefits
Once the EOB matches a paid bill and the claim is closed. The FTC notes an EOB lists the doctor, the visit date, the services and what your plan paid.
Paid medical bills
Hospital, lab, imaging and ambulance bills after they are paid, unless you need them for a tax deduction or a flexible spending claim.
Pharmacy paper
Drug information sheets, receipts, refill reminders and the labels you peel off bags. Each one names you next to a medication.
Visit and mail clutter
Visit summaries you have saved to your patient portal, appointment cards, old insurance cards, plan booklets for past years and prior-authorization letters.
What to keep before you shred
Shredding too soon is the more common mistake. A claim that gets reprocessed or a tax return that gets questioned can send you looking for a statement you destroyed last spring. Use the table as a starting point, and keep anything you are unsure about until you can ask.
| Paper | Our suggestion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| EOBs | Until the matching bill is paid and the claim is closed | You need it to check the bill and to dispute errors |
| Medical receipts you deduct on your taxes | With that year’s return, generally 3 years after filing | IRS guidance on how long to keep records |
| Tax records if income was underreported by more than 25 percent | 6 years | IRS guidance |
| Paid bills you do not deduct | Until the payment clears and nothing is in dispute | Proof of payment if a bill resurfaces |
| Immunization records, surgery reports, major diagnoses, implant cards | For life | Your future doctors may need them |
| Current insurance and Medicare cards | While in force. Shred the old card when the new one arrives | Member numbers are what a thief needs |
The IRS rule of thumb is to keep records for 3 years if none of the special cases apply, 6 years if you failed to report income that was more than 25 percent of the gross income on your return, and 7 years for a loss claim on worthless securities or bad debt. Medical receipts that support a deduction follow the return they belong to. Our post on EOB retention goes deeper on insurance paperwork.
Your doctor’s office keeps its own copy of your chart. New Hampshire physicians must keep patient records for at least 7 years from your last contact under Board of Medicine rule Med 501.02(f)(8), so you do not need to hold every lab printout to protect your care. You can ask for copies later.
How to shred medical records at home, step by step
An hour at the kitchen table handles most households. Put on some music, bring two empty boxes, and work one drawer at a time.
- Gather everything in one placePull medical paper from the desk, the junk drawer, the car and the kitchen counter. Open envelopes so nothing hides inside.
- Sort into keep and shredUse the table above. Put lifetime records in a labeled folder. Anything you are unsure about goes in a third pile to check later, not the shred box.
- Match EOBs to billsBefore an EOB goes, check that the provider, date and services match care you actually got. The FTC lists an EOB for services you did not receive as a warning sign.
- Black out what will not shredUse a permanent marker on pill bottle labels and printed packaging. Peel off pharmacy labels that come off cleanly and shred them with the paper.
- Shred cross-cut, a few sheets at a timeFeed small stacks so the shredder does not jam or overheat. Strip-cut machines leave long ribbons that can be lined back up, so cross-cut is the better choice.
- Set a yearly datePick a day, such as the week after you file taxes, and repeat the sort. A small pile once a year beats a closet full every decade.
Shopping for a machine? Our guide to the best home paper shredder covers cut types and sizes, and our post on home shredder cost runs the numbers on blades, bags and oil.
Pill bottles, x-ray film and other things a shredder cannot take
Some of the most personal medical items at home are not paper. A prescription bottle carries your name, your pharmacy, your doctor and the drug. You cannot run it through a home shredder, and you should not try.
Prescription bottles
The FDA’s guidance for throwing out medicine says to scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of empty bottles or packaging, then trash or recycle the container. The FTC says the same about anything hard to shred: block out the information with a marker.
For leftover medicine itself, the FDA calls take-back options the best way to dispose of most unused drugs. When none is available, it describes mixing the medicine with something unappealing such as used coffee grounds, sealing it in a bag and putting it in the household trash.
Film, discs and devices
Old x-ray film from a past injury, a CD of an MRI, or a phone full of portal messages also carry health information. Film and discs should not go in a home shredder.
Bring them with your paper to our drop-off, in a separate bag. They are physically destroyed and quoted per item. Our post on whether to shred medical x-rays explains how film is handled.
For caregivers and executors: a parent’s medical files
Caring for a parent tends to produce paper faster than anyone can file it. Hospital discharge packets, rehab notes, home care schedules, Medicare statements and supplemental plan letters all arrive at once, and many come in duplicate.
While your parent is living, keep their lifetime records and anything tied to an open claim or appeal. Shred duplicates, outdated care schedules and statements that match paid bills. If you hold a power of attorney, keep a copy of it with the papers you manage, so it is clear later why you had them.
After a death, slow down. The estate may need medical bills, insurance statements and receipts to settle claims or file a final return, so keep them until the executor says they are done. Our guide to shredding after a death covers what to hold and what can go, and our estate cleanout shredding page helps when a whole house needs clearing.
A family clearing out a parent’s home often ends up with several boxes of medical and financial paper at once. That is more than a home shredder should take, and it is exactly what a drop-off or a pickup is for.
How to shred medical records at home without a shredder
Not everyone owns a shredder, and a small home unit is slow on anything bigger than a handful of pages. You have three good choices, and one bad one.
A community shred day
Towns, banks and credit unions run free shred events in New Hampshire on set dates. The FTC suggests looking for one if you do not own a shredder. Our list of shred events explains how they work.
Our Tewksbury drop-off
Any weekday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA. You pay 99 cents per pound plus $34.90 per job, and the paper is shredded the same business day.
A marker for small items
For a bottle or two, a permanent marker over the label does the job. It is not a substitute for shredding paper, but it covers the items a blade cannot.
The bad choice is the burn barrel or the fireplace. Burning a box of paper rarely burns it all evenly, and half-charred pages can still be read. Our post on burning documents vs shredding explains the problems.
Households from Salem, Pelham and Windham are about 15 minutes from our door via I-93 or Route 38. Staff help you unload and parking is free. You do not need to remove staples, paper clips or folders, though binder rings and hanging-folder frames should come out. The drop-off shredding page has directions and the full prep list, and our residential shredding page covers pickups for larger home cleanouts.
Signs someone has used your medical information
Shredding lowers the risk, but it does not erase what may already be out there. The FTC lists a few signals worth watching for, and most of them arrive by mail.
- A bill from a doctor, or an EOB, for services you did not get or prescriptions you do not take.
- A call from a debt collector about a medical debt you do not owe.
- Medical debt collection notices you do not recognize on your credit report.
- A notice from your health plan saying you have reached your benefit limit.
If you see any of these, the FTC suggests getting copies of your records from each provider and insurer involved, reporting errors in writing, and checking your credit reports. It also notes your health care provider must respond to a correction request within 30 days. IdentityTheft.gov builds a recovery plan. Our post on what to do after identity theft lays out the New Hampshire side.
Frequently asked questions
How do I shred medical records at home safely?
Sort first. Keep lifetime health records and anything tied to an open claim or a recent tax return. Match each EOB to its bill. Then feed the rest through a cross-cut shredder a few sheets at a time, and black out pill bottle labels with a marker. If the pile is too big, bring it to a shred day or our Tewksbury drop-off.
How long should I keep EOBs before shredding them?
Keep each explanation of benefits until the matching bill is paid and the claim is closed. If you deduct medical expenses on your taxes, keep the related EOBs and receipts with that year’s return, which IRS guidance generally puts at 3 years after filing. Check every EOB for services you did not get before you shred it.
Should I shred pill bottle labels?
You cannot run a pill bottle through a home shredder. The FDA says to scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of empty bottles or packaging before you trash or recycle them, and the FTC suggests a marker for anything hard to shred. Paper pharmacy labels and information sheets can go through a shredder.
Is it safe to put medical paperwork in curbside recycling?
Not whole. The FTC advises shredding documents with medical information before you throw them away. A recycling bin at the curb can be opened by anyone. Once the paper is cross-cut shredded, it is unreadable. Check your town’s rules on whether shredded paper is accepted in curbside recycling before you put the shred out.
What medical records should I keep for life?
We suggest keeping immunization records, surgery and hospital discharge summaries, major diagnoses, implant or device cards and a current medication and allergy list for life. They are hard to rebuild and your future doctors may need them. Your doctors also keep their own copies, and NH physicians must hold charts for at least 7 years from your last contact.
How much does it cost to drop off a box of medical paper?
Our Tewksbury drop-off charges 99 cents per pound plus $34.90 per job. A full banker’s box weighs about 30 pounds, so one box comes to about $64.60. Ten pounds costs $44.80 and 50 pounds costs $84.40. You get a Certificate of Destruction with every job. Call (978) 636-0301 with any questions before you come.
Can you destroy old x-ray film and medical CDs?
Yes. Bring film and discs in a separate bag with your paper. They are not run through the paper shredder. They are physically destroyed and quoted per item, so tell staff what you have when you arrive or mention it when you book online. Old phones and hard drives are handled the same way.
Do you pick up medical paperwork from homes in New Hampshire?
Yes, by appointment. Pickups are priced by zone: $129.95 for border towns such as Salem, Pelham, Windham and Plaistow, $159.95 for greater Nashua and Manchester, and $199.95 for the Seacoast and farther north, plus the shredding rate and $34.90 per job. Everything is shredded at our Tewksbury office.
Sources
- FTC Consumer Advice: What To Know About Medical Identity Theft (checked November 2026)
- FDA: Drug Disposal, Dispose “Non-Flush List” Medicine in Trash (checked November 2026)
- FDA: Disposal of Unused Medicines, What You Should Know (checked November 2026)
- IRS: How long should I keep records? (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire General Court: Board of Medicine rules, Med 501.02 (checked November 2026)
Too much medical paper for the home shredder?
Bring it to our Tewksbury counter on any weekday, or book a pickup by zone. Leave the staples in, bag any film or discs separately, and take home a 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.