Search South Dakota Public Records - Free Government Databases

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).