The South Dakota Department of Corrections runs an Offender Locator that takes a DOC number or a last name and first name, in letters, periods, commas, hyphens and spaces only, and returns public information on felony offenders sentenced to the department, drawn from the court records sent to it and its own files; people sentenced to county jail, probation or any other form of supervision are not in it, the department guarantees neither accuracy nor completeness, and anyone who believes a record is wrong can call (605) 367-5190 or (605) 367-5140. The department's family page says the locator is also how to find which facility or parole office oversees a person before contacting Constituent Services at 605-773-3478 or by mail at 3200 E Highway 34, Pierre, SD 57501, and that offender specific information is released only under SDCL 24-2-20.
The second route is the Attorney General's SAVIN, the Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification service, searched by a partial or full last name or by the case number the court assigned, where anyone can register to be told of a change in custody status such as a release; the department's victim services page says registrations are confidential and that a person registered under the earlier notification service must register again with SAVIN. A person held before trial or on a county sentence is in a county jail, found through the South Dakota county pages; the largest, Minnehaha County's, is covered below.
- Search: the DOC Offender Locator by DOC number or name for prison inmates, and SAVIN by name or case number for custody notifications.
- The one form: every prospective visitor and everyone who wants to send money files a visitation application, with a background check at 18 or older and a renewal every year; the inmate is told of changes to the list.
- Mail and money: letters with the offender's name and DOC number and a legible return address; money by money order or cashier's check payable to the offender with the remitter's name, or through JailATM, from an approved visitor whose name and birth date match the list exactly.
- Calls and visits: calls only to verified contract or prepaid numbers the inmate has had approved, never VoIP, with no incoming calls; video calls through VisitNow and messages through Getting Out at some facilities; every visit scheduled at least 72 hours ahead.
Written by SearchSystems.net from South Dakota's own systems: the South Dakota Department of Corrections Offender Locator, the department's Family and Friends page, the department's Adult Corrections page, the department's Facilities page, the department's Victim Services page, the South Dakota Attorney General's SAVIN Offender Search, the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Who's Behind Bars page, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
The eight facilities and where a sentence begins
The facilities page lists eight state facilities and three contracted local ones, the St. Francis House in Sioux Falls and the Hughes County Jail in Pierre among them, graded by security level: the minimum centers in Sioux Falls, Yankton, Pierre and Rapid City are Level II, fenced and patrolled, the only places work release can run; the Mike Durfee State Prison at 1412 Wood Street, Springfield, 605-299-5006, and the Rapid City Correctional Facility at 1020 North Creek Drive, 605-480-9987, whose ribbon cutting the department reported on July 10, 2026, are Level III; the South Dakota State Penitentiary at 1600 North Drive, PO Box 5911, Sioux Falls 57117, 605-367-5051, is Level IV; and the Jameson Annex at the same address, 605-367-5120, and the South Dakota Women's Prison at 3200 East Highway 34, care of 500 E.
Capitol Avenue, Pierre 57501, 605-773-6636, are Level V, able to hold every classification. The Rapid City Minimum Center is at 2725 Creek Drive, 605-394-5294, the Yankton Minimum Center at 178 Mickelson Drive, 605-668-3355, and the Sioux Falls and Pierre minimum centers share the penitentiary's and the women's prison's addresses; a Sioux Falls Correctional Facility is under construction. The adult corrections page describes the start of a sentence: men go through Admissions and Orientation at the Jameson Annex and women at the women's prison, about 20 days of paperwork review, medical, dental and mental health screening, photographs, fingerprints, a DNA sample where none exists, an interview, an ID and a bed, with risk and needs assessments and a classification into close, medium, minimum restricted or minimum custody, reviewed at least once a year.
People in orientation may receive letters, addressed to the offender's name at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, 1600 North Drive, PO Box 5911, Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5911 for men and at the South Dakota Women's Prison, 3200 East Highway 34, c/o 500 East Capitol Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501-5070 for women, but no visits or calls until they are assigned to a housing unit; basic toiletries are issued until the inmate has an account and can buy from the commissary, and each receives an Offender Living Guide and an Individual Program Directive.
The visitation application: the key to money as well as visits
The family page makes one form the gate for everything: all prospective visitors and anyone who wishes to send funds must complete a visitation application, a background check is run on anyone 18 or older, an approved visitor files a renewal application every year, and the offender is told of changes to the approved list. The application is filed online, or on a printable form emailed to VisitList@state.sd.us or mailed to the facility; a visitor then registers to schedule, and every visit is pre scheduled at least 72 hours in advance, on each facility's own schedule for the State Penitentiary, the Jameson Annex, the Sioux Falls, Pierre, Rapid City and Yankton minimum centers, Mike Durfee, the women's prison and the Rapid City Correctional Facility, under policy 300-23 with posted rules on apparel, allowable items, a K-9 search notice and a consent to search.
Mail, money and packages
Mail must carry the offender's name and DOC number and a complete, legible return address or it may be rejected, under the correspondence and publications policies. Printed matter, books, magazines and photos, comes only from the publisher, distributor or institution of higher learning, never from third party marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay, and hardcover, hollow or wire bound books and mailings with more than 12 photos are subject to rejection.
Money by mail is a money order or cashier's check in U.S. currency from an approved visitor, payable to the offender with the offender's first name, last name and DOC ID and the remitter's name and address, in an envelope showing the sender's full name and return address, with cash and personal checks refused; online, an approved visitor deposits through JailATM, usually available within two days, with support at 1-877-810-0914 or support@jailatm.com, and the deposit is denied if the account name and date of birth do not exactly match the approved visitor list.
Property packages are ordered from Union Supply at SDPackageProgram.com, 424-338-9020, again only in a name that matches the list exactly, under the personal property policy and the accounts and financial responsibility policy.
Calls, video calls and messages
An inmate asks to have a phone number added to the approved list, and the number must be verified as assigned to a contract or prepaid plan and device; VoIP numbers are not permitted, and inmates cannot receive incoming calls. Family and friends fund the phone account through Connect Network, with support at 1-877-650-4249, and those funds buy phone and tablet services only and cannot be moved to another account. Inmates may start VisitNow video calls with people on the approved phone list by docking their tablet, and at selected facilities Getting Out carries tablet messages between the inmate and approved contacts, with unapproved contacts shown as pending; messages are not instant, every message is reviewed, no photos travel by message, and Getting Out support answers at 888-428-1845, under the telephones and tablets policy. Legal counsel contacts the facility to set up a privileged call.
Minnehaha County: Who's Behind Bars
The Minnehaha County Sheriff's Who's Behind Bars list for the Sioux Falls jail is searched by last name or browsed in full and is updated every fifteen minutes; it records the booking, not a court case, may not reflect later charging decisions or outcomes, carries no criminal history, and notes that a booking establishes no guilt. The page carries a scam alert, that the sheriff's office will never call demanding payment and that a doubtful call should be checked with the jail at 605-367-4321, and it sends deposits to JailATM, visits, phone and messaging to NCIC, bond to CourtMoney, warrants to the Got Warrants page and courtroom questions to the Unified Judicial System, with a note that bond amounts shown may be wrong because of technical difficulties.
Reading a South Dakota result
A locator result means a felony sentence to the department, at one of the eight facilities or a contract jail, with the DOC number that every letter, deposit and application needs; no result means a county jail, probation or release, where SAVIN or the sheriff takes over. Nothing but a letter moves until the visitation application is approved, and then money, packages, calls and a 72 hour scheduled visit all run through the approved names.
Questions about finding an inmate in South Dakota
Related South Dakota records
The locator is one of the South Dakota records this site covers: the South Dakota arrest records guide explains what a booking makes public, the court records guide covers the Unified Judicial System, the sex offender registry guide covers the Attorney General's registry, and the South Dakota county pages list each sheriff and jail.