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South Dakota public records: who holds what

In South Dakota, deeds are recorded by the Register of Deeds; birth and death certificates come from the Vital Records Office, South Dakota Department of Health; and requests for other government records fall under the South Dakota public records law (SDCL chapter 1-27, 'Public Records and Files'; open records procedures). Below: who holds every other record, what copies cost and the official link for each office.

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. Who holds what in South Dakota
  2. Public records law in South Dakota
  3. Divorce records in South Dakota
  4. How South Dakota organizes its records
  5. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
  6. Counties in South Dakota
  7. Warnings from official sources
  8. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  9. Official directories
  10. Sources

Who holds what in South Dakota

The office that keeps each record, and the fee the law or the office sets for a copy. Open a record type for the full rules, ordering steps and older records.

RecordWho holds itCopy fee
DeedsCounty Register of Deeds (DOH directory lists 66 counties; Oglala Lakota and Todd counties are served at the Fall River (Hot Springs) and Tripp (Winner) offices)1$1 per page for an uncertified copy (hard copy, microfilm, electronic or fax)2
Property recordsCounty Director of Equalization is the assessor of all real property; property assessed at full and true (market) value, then equalized to 85% for taxation3—
Court recordsUnified Judicial System: Supreme Court plus circuit courts (trial courts, seven judicial circuits) with magistrate courts handling misdemeanors, minor civil and small claims; records kept by the county Clerk of Courts4Statewide record search by mail/email form: $20 per name (criminal from Jan 1989, civil from Jan 2006); $5 if certified as for a pending cause of action; no fee for named parties, legal representatives and qualified agencies. Clerk fees: $15 for an authenticated/exemplified copy; civil money judgment web search $4 per name/date search5
Marriage recordsCounty Register of Deeds issues licenses (any county) and keeps marriage records; Department of Health Vital Records holds statewide records since 19056$15 per certified or informational copy (DOH; also available at any Register of Deeds); online/phone orders via VitalChek add fees7
Divorce recordsDivorce decrees: Clerk of Courts in the county where filed. Divorce certificates: only the DOH State Vital Records Office8$15 per certified or informational divorce record from DOH7
Birth certificatesSouth Dakota Department of Health, Vital Records (221 W. Capitol Ave, Pierre); certified copies also issued at any county Register of Deeds from the central state database9$15 per copy (search fee, non-refundable); VitalChek online/phone: $15 + $6.50 VitalChek fee + $5 expedite (regular mail) = $26.50, or $44.00 with UPS next day; $2.50 surcharge for cards in person8
Death certificatesDOH Vital Records holds originals for all deaths after 1905; county Register of Deeds keeps copies for deaths in that county9$15 per certified or informational copy7
Probate and willsCircuit court (Clerk of Courts in each county) handles probate under the Uniform Probate Code10—

Public records law in South Dakota

South Dakota public records law (SDCL chapter 1-27, 'Public Records and Files'; open records procedures) (SDCL §§ 1-27-1 to 1-27-1.15 (access and exemptions) and §§ 1-27-35 to 1-27-43 (request, fee and review procedure)) Read the law11

This law covers records that agencies hold, such as a county office's correspondence or a property file. Recorded deeds, vital records and court files usually have their own rules, set out in each record section.

Who can ask
All citizens of the state and all other persons interested in examining public records (no residency requirement stated)12
Response time
Informal request goes to the records custodian (no statutory deadline stated); if denied, a written request to the entity's public record officer must be answered promptly and no later than 10 business days (provide records, deny, or acknowledge with time estimate). The state's online portal says agencies respond within 10 business days.13
If a request is refused
Within 90 days of a denial (or of an objection to the fee or time estimate) the requester may commence a civil action by summons, or instead file a written notice of review with the Office of Hearing Examiners by registered or certified mail; the OHE decision may be appealed to circuit court under ch. 1-2614
What is exempt
§ 1-27-1.5 lists records not open, incl. student personal information; medical records (other than births and deaths); trade secrets/proprietary research; attorney work product/privileged records; law-enforcement investigation records; plus § 1-27-1.6 financial/commercial/proprietary data, § 1-27-1.7 drafts/notes/memoranda, § 1-27-1.3 records impairing contract awards or collective bargaining, and § 23-5-11 criminal history information15
Fees: general
Actual cost of mailing/transmittal and reproduction, or other fee set by statute/rule; staff time may be charged when a request takes more than one hour; maximum rates set by Bureau of Human Resources and Administration rule where no other rate applies16
Fees: estimate
Written cost estimate required before work when fee is likely to exceed $50; custodian may waive or reduce fees in the public interest17
More on the South Dakota public records law (SDCL chapter 1-27, 'Public Records and Files'; open records procedures)
Request portal
SD.gov Public Records Request Portal for state agencies (vital records excluded; use DOH)11

How to write a public records request

Divorce records in South Dakota

Who holds it
Divorce decrees: Clerk of Courts in the county where filed. Divorce certificates: only the DOH State Vital Records Office8
Certificate fee
$15 per certified or informational divorce record from DOH7
Access
Divorce case files are court records under SDCL 15-15A (generally public for adults, with listed exclusions)18

How this works in other states: divorce records by state.

How South Dakota organizes its records

  • Register of Deeds is also the local vital-records registrar: it issues marriage licenses and certified birth, death and marriage copies from the statewide database, and accepts vital-record orders9
  • Oglala Lakota County and Todd County have no separate courthouse office in the DOH directory: their Register of Deeds listings use the Fall River County address (906 N. River St., Hot Springs) and the Tripp County address (200 E. 3rd St., Winner)19
  • Probate is in circuit court (Clerk of Courts), not a separate probate court10
  • Real property assessor is the county Director of Equalization (not an 'assessor')3
  • Tribal records: tribal marriages/divorces only from the tribe; the state sex offender registry links separate tribal registries8
  • Statewide voter registration file is posted publicly each week (commercial use prohibited)20

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

State repository
The Attorney General compiles state criminal history information (the 'rap sheet') under SDCL ch. 23-5. Criminal history information is exempt from open-records disclosure21
Who may order
A person may examine their own DCI record by written request with fingerprints, and may authorize release to others22
Court alternative
Public court-record name search (not a DCI check): PARS, $20 per search; can be used for a background check on yourself, another person or a business23

Sex offender registry

Official registry
South Dakota Sex Offender Registry, maintained by the AG's Division of Criminal Investigation: sor.sd.gov24
Misuse
Using registry information to threaten, intimidate or harass is a Class 6 felony24

Voter records

Access
Public: the Secretary of State posts the complete statewide voter registration file on its website weekly (Mondays) and keeps a free rolling five-year historical archive; SSN, driver license/ID numbers and month/day of birth are not public20
Restrictions
Voter information may not be sold or used for commercial purposes (campaign/political polling allowed); violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor plus civil penalty up to $2,00025
Paper list fees
Statutory caps for paper lists: $1,000 statewide, $100 legislative district, $50 county; electronic statewide file up to $22526
Local office
County auditors maintain county voter registration and transmit changes daily to the SOS system20
Check own
Voter Information Portal (VIP): vip.sdsos.gov27

Business names (DBA)

Assumed names (DBA)
Fictitious name (DBA) statements are filed electronically with the Secretary of State or on paper with any county Register of Deeds; $10 fee; renew every 5 years28
Search
SOS DBA search: sosenterprise.sd.gov/…; entity search: sosenterprise.sd.gov/…29

Liens and UCC filings

Where
UCC financing statements: Secretary of State centrally; county Register of Deeds for fixture filings, timber to be cut and as-extracted collateral (where the real-estate mortgage would be recorded)30
Search fee
UCC search/certificate: $20 by written request, $10 by internet; copies $1 per page; filing $25 paper (1 page) / $20 internet31
How to search
Online UCC search is only for prepaid (PAD) account holders. Others send the SOS the request form that the UCC portal links as 'UCC2 Certified Search Request / Copy Request' (the PDF is Form UCC11 Information Request, Rev. 07/19/12), by email to [email protected] or by mail32

GIS and parcel maps

State GIS portal
State open GIS data hub: gis.sd.gov (redirects to the state BIT ArcGIS Hub site opendata2017-09-18t192802468z-sdbit.opendata.arcgis.com)33
Property tax portal
DOR Property Tax Transparency Portal sdproptax.info3

Historical and genealogy records

State archives
South Dakota State Archives (State Historical Society), 900 Governors Drive, Pierre; research room by appointment Mon-Fri; mail/email research for a fee34
Fees
$15 single-record search (<30 min); $25/hour multi-record search; $0.25/page photocopies; $1/page microfilm prints; $10 certification of a single record35
Indexes
Online indexes include the 1905 SD State Census, naturalization records, cemetery records and newspapers. Digital Archives: histsd.access.preservica.com/portal/en-US36
Vital records for genealogy
Genealogy vital-record requests by mail only to DOH; photostatic informational copies recommended9

Counties in South Dakota

2 counties with a full guide

Each guide lists the office for every record type, the official online searches, copy fees, phones and hours.

All 66 counties

Names in bold open our guide. Names with an arrow go to the county's own website, where the US Census Bureau lists one and it opened when we checked.37

Warnings from official sources

  • UJS warns of fake court notices/texts claiming unpaid traffic violations with QR codes or payment links (posted May 4, 2026); courts never demand payment by text, QR code, crypto or payment apps; report to AG Consumer Protection 1-800-300-198638
  • Vital records: VitalChek is the only third-party vendor authorized by DOH; other sites ordering SD certificates are not authorized8

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any South Dakota office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every county.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 42 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. SDCL § 7-9-1 Register of deeds duty to keep recordsSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  2. SDCL § 7-9-15 Register of deeds feesSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  3. Property Tax (individuals)South Dakota Department of Revenue
  4. Court StructureSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System
  5. SDCL § 16-2-29.5 Records search feeSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  6. SDCL § 25-1-10 Marriage license--Fee--Certified copiesSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  7. Vital Records FeesSouth Dakota Department of Health
  8. Order Vital RecordsSouth Dakota Department of Health
  9. Genealogy ResourcesSouth Dakota Department of Health
  10. SDCL § 29A-1-201 Uniform Probate Code definitionsSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  11. Public Records Request portalState of South Dakota (SD.gov)
  12. SDCL § 1-27-1 Public records open to inspection and copyingSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  13. SDCL § 1-27-37 Written request for disclosure of recordsSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  14. SDCL § 1-27-38 Civil action or administrative review of denialSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  15. SDCL § 1-27-1.5 Records not open to inspection and copyingSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  16. SDCL § 1-27-35 Informal requests for disclosure of records--CostsSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  17. SDCL § 1-27-36 Estimate of retrieval and reproduction cost--WaiverSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  18. SDCL § 15-15A-3 Court records rule--Definition of termsSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  19. Find a Register of Deeds OfficeSouth Dakota Department of Health
  20. SDCL § 12-4-37 Statewide voter registration file--Published to websiteSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  21. SDCL § 23-5-11 Confidential criminal justice informationSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  22. SDCL § 23-5-12 Examination of own criminal history informationSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  23. Court Records SearchSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System
  24. South Dakota Sex Offender RegistrySouth Dakota Attorney General - Division of Criminal Investigation
  25. SDCL § 12-4-41 Limited use of voter registration informationSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  26. SDCL § 12-4-39 Voter file rules and feesSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  27. Elections & VotingSouth Dakota Secretary of State
  28. SDCL § 37-11-1 Filing of fictitious name statementSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  29. DBA - Business Name servicesSouth Dakota Secretary of State
  30. SDCL § 57A-9-501 Office for filing financing statementSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  31. SDCL § 57A-9-525 UCC feesSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  32. UCC Services (sosenterprise)South Dakota Secretary of State
  33. South Dakota open GIS data hub (gis.sd.gov redirect)South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunications
  34. Plan Your Research Visit / Research ServicesSouth Dakota State Historical Society - State Archives
  35. State Archives Fee ScheduleSouth Dakota State Historical Society - State Archives
  36. Collection IndexesSouth Dakota State Historical Society - State Archives
  37. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
  38. South Dakota Court ScamsSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System
  39. Court FinderSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System
  40. Contact County Directors of EqualizationSouth Dakota Department of Revenue
  41. Contact County TreasurersSouth Dakota Department of Revenue
  42. Contact County AuditorsSouth Dakota Department of Revenue