Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Hanson County, South Dakota, has about 3,500 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In South Dakota the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the Clerk of Courts; the statewide criminal history kept by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation is released only to its subject and to the employers and agencies the law allows. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Hanson County is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Hanson County public records, Hanson County arrest records, Hanson County warrants, Hanson County court records, Hanson County police reports, South Dakota arrest records and South Dakota inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Circuit Court for Hanson County
In South Dakota the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Hanson County are heard by the Circuit Court for Hanson County, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case, with magistrate judges taking misdemeanors, traffic and small claims, and the file of each case is kept by the Clerk of Courts.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at dakotaathome.sd.gov/search/0776b45c-2960-5ac7-ba4f-fbe6658d6717 (page title: Hanson County Clerk of Courts | South Dakota Unified Judicial System | Clerk of Courts), phone 605-239-4446, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Statewide, UJS Public Access Record Search is the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name.
The South Dakota Criminal History and Your Own Copy
The statewide criminal history kept by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation is closed to the public in South Dakota: it is released to its subject and to authorized employers and licensing agencies, and a member of the public uses the court's own case index instead.
To see your own record, the route is a fingerprint-based request to the Division of Criminal Investigation. The state page SearchSystems verified for it is at atg.sd.gov/LawEnforcement/Identification/criminalHistory.aspx.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Hanson County
The Hanson County Sheriff's Office keeps the arrest records in Hanson County: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
The Hanson County Sheriff's Office reported 11 arrests to the FBI for 2020; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Hanson County arrest records.
The State's Attorney for Hanson County
Charges in Hanson County are filed by the State's Attorney, which reviews the arrests of every agency in the county and brings the cases in the Circuit Court for Hanson County.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at hansoncountysd.gov/states-attorney (page title: State’s Attorney | Hanson County, South Dakota), phone 605-996-7551, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Hanson County
Registered sex offenders living in Hanson County are listed on the South Dakota Sex Offender Registry, run by the South Dakota Attorney General at sor.sd.gov/Home/Search?d=t. The registry is public and can be searched online.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Hanson County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the South Dakota Open Records Law a county office must answer a request within 10 business days, and it may charge copying and staff time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Hanson County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Circuit Court for Hanson County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the South Dakota Open Records Law.
Can I search Hanson County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at dakotaathome.sd.gov (page title: Hanson County Clerk of Courts | South Dakota Unified Judicial System | Clerk of Courts). Statewide, UJS Public Access Record Search is the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name.
How do I get my own South Dakota criminal history?
Through a fingerprint-based request to the Division of Criminal Investigation.
Who prosecutes crimes in Hanson County?
The State's Attorney, reached at 605-996-7551, which files its cases in the Circuit Court for Hanson County.
Is this the official Hanson County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.