Two authorized personnel must be present for the destruction of which type of documents?

• A. Top Secret
• B. Secret and Confidential
• C. All classifications
• D. No requirement

Answer: (A)

Destruction of the highest level of classified material is tightly controlled to prevent any chance of recovery or leakage. Having two authorized personnel present serves as a built-in check: one person conducts the destruction, and a second witness verifies that it happened correctly and that nothing remains that could be retrieved. This dual-person requirement creates an auditable record and reduces the risk of error, tampering, or misuse, which is essential when the information could cause exceptionally grave damage if mishandled.

For lower classifications, the rules are generally less stringent, and single-person destruction may be permissible under policy. The option claiming there’s no requirement would contradict safeguarding practices that insist on formal, verifiable destruction for Top Secret material.