Choose how your data is handled
Meridian IT Asset Disposition offers in-house sanitization to NIST SP 800-88. You can also request on-site HDD and SSD shredding. We confirm availability and scope for each job.
- In-house standard
- NIST SP 800-88
- In-house location
- Oakland, California
- On-site shredding
- Request availability
- In-house records
- Per-drive certificates
We document the handoffs for in-house jobs
Our team collects in the Bay Area; freight carriers handle transport elsewhere. We record receipt in Oakland and the outcome for each drive. For requested on-site work, we agree on handling and records beforehand.
Your dock
You sign a chain-of-custody form listing what leaves the building.
In transit
Our team brings it back from the Bay Area. Elsewhere, we book freight.
Our warehouse
We count everything against the quote the day it arrives in Oakland.
Sanitization bench
We wipe every drive to NIST SP 800-88 and destroy any that fail.
Your records
One certificate per drive serial number, plus the job summary.
In-house sanitization follows NIST SP 800-88
NIST SP 800-88 is the US government's guideline for sanitizing storage media. It describes three levels, from overwriting the data up to destroying the drive, and your certificate names the one we used.
Level 1
Clear
Stops recovery with ordinary tools
Writes new data over every user-addressable location on the drive. It works on any drive that takes standard read and write commands.
Level 2
Purge
Stops recovery even in a lab
Runs the drive's own sanitize commands, such as cryptographic erase or block erase, so lab recovery techniques can't bring the data back.
Level 3
Destroy
The drive can never be used again
Physically destroys the media. We do this to any drive that fails the wipe, and its certificate says so.
Oakland, CA 94607
hello@meridianitad.com
Certificate of Data Sanitization
| Drive serial | Model | Capacity | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMPL0A1F | ST1200MM0099 | 1.2 TB SAS | Passed |
| SMPL0A2K | ST1200MM0099 | 1.2 TB SAS | Passed |
| SMPL0B7Q | AL15SEB120N | 1.2 TB SAS | Passed |
| SMPL0C3M | MZ7LH960HAJR | 960 GB SATA SSD | Passed |
| SMPL0C9T | MZ7LH960HAJR | 960 GB SATA SSD | Failed, destroyed |
Method: NIST SP 800-88, performed in-house at the facility above. Each drive listed was sanitized and verified, and any drive that failed sanitization was physically destroyed.
In-house sanitization records each drive serial
If someone asks about one particular drive, you can look it up by serial number and show them exactly what we did to it.
- Your company and job numberSo you can match the certificate to the quote and your own records.
- The machine it came fromThe server, array, or laptop we pulled the drive from, with that serial too.
- The drive itselfSerial number, model, and capacity, read straight off the drive when it arrives.
- How we wiped itThe NIST SP 800-88 method we used, and whether the drive passed or we destroyed it.
The job summary covers everything else
Servers, switches, laptops, and loose drives all go on one list with what happened to each item. Forward it to your auditor, or to whoever asks where the old servers went.
Job Summary
Job SAMPLE-0001, Example Company
| Item | Asset serial | Drives | Data destruction | Certificates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell PowerEdge R740xd | SMPLTAG1 | 5 | 4 wiped, 1 destroyed | 5 |
| Dell PowerEdge R640 | SMPLTAG2 | 2 | 2 wiped | 2 |
| HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 | SMPLHPE3 | 8 | 8 wiped | 8 |
| Cisco Catalyst 9300 | SMPLCSC4 | 0 | No drives | 0 |
| 64GB DDR5 RDIMM (x16) | Listed by part | 0 | No drives | 0 |
| Totals | 15 | 14 wiped, 1 destroyed | 15 |
Data destruction questions
What standard does Meridian ITAD wipe drives to?
NIST SP 800-88, the US federal guideline for media sanitization. We do the work in our own facility in Oakland, and every drive gets a certificate with its serial number, the method, and the result.
What is NIST SP 800-88?
It's a guideline from the National Institute of Standards and Technology on how to sanitize storage media before it's reused or thrown away. It defines three levels of sanitization, called Clear, Purge, and Destroy.
What happens to a drive that fails the wipe?
We physically destroy it. Its certificate records that it failed the wipe and was destroyed, so the serial number is still accounted for.
Can I request on-site shredding?
For in-house sanitization, our team wipes drives at our Oakland facility. You can also request on-site HDD and SSD shredding; we confirm availability and scope for each job.
Do I get a certificate for every drive?
In-house sanitization includes one certificate per drive serial and a job summary. For on-site shredding, we confirm the documentation with you before work starts.
Do you wipe SSDs and NVMe drives too?
Yes. We wipe SSDs and NVMe drives to NIST SP 800-88 just like hard drives, and each one gets its own certificate naming the method we used on it.
Can I get a sample certificate before I send hardware?
Yes. Ask through the contact form and we'll email you a sample certificate and job summary as PDFs.
Tell us what you need to clear out
Send photos or a description, or request an inventory visit. We reply within 1 business day. No detailed list is required to start.