What Is NAID AAA Certification? How to Verify Your Shredding Company

When you hire a shredding company, you're trusting its employees to protect confidential information throughout collection, transportation, and destruction.

NAID AAA Certification is an independently audited certification program for companies that destroy confidential information. Administered by the International Secure Information Governance & Management Association (i-SIGMA), NAID AAA Certification requires companies to pass an initial audit and undergo scheduled and unannounced inspections to maintain their credentials. 

NAID AAA Certification doesn't automatically cover every type of information destruction. A provider's credentials specify which services are certified, including paper and other physical media destruction, hard drive and solid-state device destruction, electronic data erasure, and product destruction. Certification also identifies whether services are performed through mobile or facility-based operations.

What Are the Requirements for NAID AAA Certification?

Employee Screening and Training

Employees who handle confidential information have access to sensitive customer data, making employee screening and training essential to information security.

NAID AAA Certification requires employee screening, confidentiality agreements, and security training.

During inspections, auditors review background checks, signed agreements, and training records.

Secure Collection and Transportation

Confidential materials must remain secure and accounted for throughout collection and transportation.

NAID AAA Certification requires secure collection containers, protected transportation vehicles, and procedures for documenting the movement of confidential materials.

During inspections, auditors may follow a collection truck along its route and check whether the doors are locked when the driver steps away. They examine collection and transfer records to verify how companies account for materials in their possession.

Facility Security

Confidential documents and electronic media awaiting destruction must be protected from unauthorized access.

NAID AAA Certification requires security measures that restrict access to sensitive materials within destruction facilities.

During inspections, auditors examine surveillance systems, camera recordings, and maintenance logs to verify that security equipment is operating and monitored.

Secure Destruction

Confidential information must be destroyed so it cannot be recovered or reconstructed.

NAID AAA Certification requires providers to use destruction methods and equipment that meet the applicable security standards.

During inspections, auditors review destruction procedures and records and may physically inspect or witness the destruction process. Depending on the service, they may check particle size, verify the physical destruction of hard drives or solid-state devices, and review serial-number records and quality-control documentation.

How to Check a Shredding Provider's Certification

A shredding company may display the NAID AAA Certification logo on its website, but the logo alone doesn't confirm whether its certification is current or which destruction services the company is certified to perform.

To verify a shredding company's NAID AAA Certification, search for the provider in i-SIGMA's free online Compliance Tracker. The tool allows you to check its certification status, expiration date, and certified destruction services.

1. Open the i-SIGMA Compliance Tracker.

2. Search for the provider by name, using the exact spelling and punctuation. For example, “Abraham's Shredding” returns a result, but “Abrahams Shredding” does not.