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: The state's criminal-history repository handles official background checks. Fees and procedures are set by the state agency — see the linked official source.
- Vital records: Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates are issued by the state Department of Health (or equivalent) 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 Secretary of State (or equivalent) operates the official business-entity search.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2024 Population Estimates Program; 2022 ACS 5-year)
Statewide Databases
82 official South Dakota government databases. Click a tab to filter by record type.
Court Records
Criminal Records
Wants & Warrants
Vital Records
Voter Records
Licenses
Recorded Documents
Property Records
South Dakota Counties
66 South Dakota counties are indexed on SearchSystems.net — top 28 counties shown below. Browse the full directory or click any county for local court, sheriff, recorder and assessor links.
Frequently Asked Questions
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).
