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South Dakota court records

Who holds it: Unified 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 Courts1

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. What is public and what is sealed
  2. Older records and indexes
  3. Related records in South Dakota
  4. How South Dakota handles it
  5. Court records in South Dakota counties with a full guide
  6. Official warnings
  7. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  8. Sources

Fees

Statewide 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 search2

Statewide case search

PARS (Public Access Record Search) ujspars.sd.gov - summaries of public criminal cases (1989-present unless sealed) and protection orders, $20 per search; eCourts ecourts.sd.gov - free registration, case summaries by party name or case number; Civil Money Judgment search ujsjudgmentquery.sd.gov; public access terminals in every courthouse3

Free search, fee for copies

What is public and what is sealed

What is public
Adult court records are public under SDCL ch. 15-15A court-records rule; juvenile cases are confidential and excluded from searches4
Sealed and confidential records
§ 15-15A-7 lists records excluded from public access, e.g., abuse/neglect, adoption, juvenile, sealed search-warrant affidavits, suspended imposition of sentence records after discharge, deposited wills5

Older records and indexes

Pre records
Criminal cases before 1989 must be requested from the clerk of courts in the county where filed3
Criminal history checks: who may order
A person may examine their own DCI record by written request with fingerprints, and may authorize release to others6
Divorce records: who holds it
Divorce decrees: Clerk of Courts in the county where filed. Divorce certificates: only the DOH State Vital Records Office7
Probate: who holds it
Circuit court (Clerk of Courts in each county) handles probate under the Uniform Probate Code8

How South Dakota handles it

  • 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)9
  • Probate is in circuit court (Clerk of Courts), not a separate probate court8

Court records in South Dakota counties with a full guide

The local office, its official online search and its own fee, for each county with a full guide. Local fees can differ from the statewide figures above.

CountyOfficeSearch onlineFee
Minnehaha County—Circuit Court, Second Judicial Circuit10Statewide 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 search11
Pennington County———

For any other county, see the county list on the South Dakota guide.

Official warnings

  • 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 1-800-300-198612

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.

Rules in other states: court records in every state. Everything else in South Dakota: South Dakota public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 12 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Court StructureSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System
  2. SDCL § 16-2-29.5 Records search feeSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  3. Court Records SearchSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System
  4. Cases and RecordsSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System
  5. SDCL § 15-15A-7 Court records excluded from public accessSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  6. SDCL § 23-5-12 Examination of own criminal history informationSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  7. Order Vital RecordsSouth Dakota Department of Health
  8. SDCL § 29A-1-201 Uniform Probate Code definitionsSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  9. Find a Register of Deeds OfficeSouth Dakota Department of Health
  10. Court Records SearchSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System
  11. SDCL § 16-2-29.5 Records search feeSouth Dakota Legislature (SDCL)
  12. South Dakota Court ScamsSouth Dakota Unified Judicial System