Search South Dakota Public Records - Free Government Databases
Free links to official South Dakota state and county government records — courts, criminal histories, vital records, property, voter, business, and licenses across all 66 counties.
How to Search South Dakota Public Records
South Dakota's court, criminal, vital, property, voter, and licensing records are maintained across state agencies and the 66 counties listed below. Use the tabs to filter by record type, or jump directly to any source.
Courts: The South Dakota Supreme Court sits at the top of the system; trial-court business is handled by the Circuit Court (7 circuits), Magistrate Court. Most courts publish dockets and case lookups online.
Criminal history: Official background checks run through the SD Attorney General - DCI (Division of Criminal Investigation); the South Dakota criminal records page covers the current fee and request process.
Vital records: Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates are issued by the South Dakota Office of Vital Records and may also be available locally.
Property & recorded documents: Maintained at the county level by the Assessor, Recorder, or Clerk's office.
Business filings: the South Dakota Secretary of State operates the official business-entity search.
Population
924,669
Households
365,500
Median Income
$71,722
Median Home Value
$219,900
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2024 Population Estimates Program; 2022 ACS 5-year)
South Dakota Public Records at a Glance
South Dakota keeps its records system small and orderly. Circuit court case information is available statewide through the UJS's public access system, with a per-search fee for remote use — the free-versus-paid breakdown is on the South Dakota court records page. The Division of Criminal Investigation processes background checks, mostly fingerprint-based with consent; our criminal records page covers the public alternatives. Birth and death certificates come from the Office of Vital Records, and South Dakota's death index for older years is published free online. Registers of deeds record land documents in all 66 counties; the state's shared property tax portal fills the assessor gap. All 82 databases below are official.
Official Databases
82
County Pages
19
Record Categories
8
Directory Since
1997
Figures reflect sources indexed in this directory and the latest official reports. Content reviewed July 30, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
South Dakota Guides
Step-by-step pages for the searches people actually run:
U.S. District Court of South Dakota. Register with the fee-based PACER system to search for Federal bankruptcy court records by case number, name. Note: PACER charges $0.10/page; the first $30 per quarter is free.
Register with the PACER system to search the U.S. District Court of South Dakota PACER system for Federal civil & criminal court records. Note: PACER charges $0.10/page; the first $30 per quarter is free.
Browse this alphabetical listing of wanted criminals in Lawrence County, South Dakota to view information including, name, photo, DOB, physical description and crime.
Search this South Dakota Department of Agriculture database for pesticide registration licensees by company name, product name, pest, formulation type, active ingredient, company ID, product EPA ID, site (crop), pesticide type, or search by multiple crite
Browse this database of recent oil and gas drilling permits issued in South Dakota to view permit #, API #, issue date, well name, operator, legal location, county & status, with link to scanned image of the permit in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format.
Directory of South Dakota Register of Deeds offices by county. Each county Register of Deeds records and maintains real-estate deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, military discharges, and vital records.
Search Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings, federal tax liens, and effective financing statements recorded at the state level. Operated by the South Dakota Secretary of State.
County-level recorded-document portal for South Dakota deeds, mortgages, and property indexes where available. Coverage varies by participating county.
19 South Dakota counties are indexed on SearchSystems.net — top 14 counties shown below. Browse the full directory or click any county for local court, sheriff, recorder and assessor links.
How are public records organized in South Dakota?▼
South Dakota keeps public records at three levels: federal (FBI, federal courts via PACER), state (court of last resort, state police, department of health, secretary of state), and county-level (sheriffs, clerks, recorders, assessors). Each county maintains its own court, criminal-justice, property, and vital-records offices linked from the county pages below.
Where do I start a South Dakota court-case search?▼
For statewide trial-court information, start at the South Dakota Unified Judicial System: ujs.sd.gov. South Dakota federal cases are searched through PACER. For local case dockets, see the Court Records tab and the county page for your area.
How do I get an official South Dakota background check?▼
South Dakota's official statewide criminal-history check is run by the SD Attorney General - DCI (Division of Criminal Investigation) at atg.sd.gov. Most state-level checks require fingerprints and a fee. A nationwide FBI Identity History Summary is available separately.
Where do I obtain South Dakota birth, death, or marriage certificates?▼
Certified South Dakota vital records are issued by the Official South Dakota Vital Records at doh.sd.gov. Recent local events (births, deaths, marriages) can often also be requested from the county clerk or local registrar where the event was filed.
What does it cost to access South Dakota public records?▼
Most online record indexes in South Dakota are free to search; fees apply for certified copies, fingerprint background checks, full document images at the recorder, and statewide bulk data. Each agency publishes its current fee schedule — for example the South Dakota Unified Judicial System (courts), the Official South Dakota Vital Records (vital records), the Official South Dakota Voter Records (elections), and the Official South Dakota Professional & Occupational Licenses (licenses).
