How to become a notary public in South Dakota

South Dakota notary public licenses

South Dakota issues 2 notary public credentials. Each has its own section below; the table shows what each one covers and its headline requirements.

Applies to every license level

These rules are the same for every South Dakota notary public license on this page, so they are shown once here. Each license's own section lists only what differs.

Requirements

Minimum age

18 years old⁶

How to apply

Application form

Form (PDF, sdsos.gov)²⁷

Who needs a Notary Public license

Public official commissioned by the Secretary of State for six years to administer oaths and affirmations, take acknowledgments, take verifications, witness or attest signatures, certify copies and note protests anywhere in South Dakota (only while physically in SD).⁵

Requirements for a Notary Public license

The rules this license shares with every other level are under Applies to every license level.

Education or training

No course required. The SOS publishes a free Notary Public Handbook that notaries are expected to know.³

Background check

Background check required²
Absolute bar: anyone convicted of a felony cannot be appointed; a notary convicted of a felony or a chapter 18-1 misdemeanor is removed.¹

Residency or citizenship

South Dakota resident (an actual fixed dwelling where you live and sleep for at least 30 consecutive days), or a resident of a county in a neighbouring state that borders South Dakota whose place of work or business is in South Dakota. The residence address must be a physical address (no PO box or business address). No citizenship requirement is stated.¹

Insurance

Errors and omissions insurance is optional.⁵

Also required

Buy an official seal first (rubber stamp, embosser or electronic) showing your name exactly as commissioned, "Notary Public", "South Dakota" and a surrounding border (rubber stamp/electronic: also the word "seal"); its imprint goes on the application. The expiration date goes outside the border.⁸

Also required

Take the oath on the application form (sworn before an officer, with the county entered); the oath and seal imprint are filed with the SOS.²

Also required

Post the commission certificate in your office; report name, address or seal changes on the Notary Change Form and do not use a new name or seal until the SOS confirms.¹

How much a Notary Public license costs

What a notary public may charge the public:

• Notary fees are not capped by statute ("may charge and receive a fee for each instrument"), except no fee for notarizing an absentee-ballot request.¹

How to apply

1. Check you qualify: legal age (18+), SD resident (or living in a bordering out-of-state county with an SD workplace), no felony conviction.¹
2. Buy your notary seal first; your name on the application, seal and oath signature must match exactly.⁹
3. Complete the Notary Public Application & Oath (revised May 22, 2026): seal imprint, physical residential address, date of birth, felony question, e-notary question; sign the oath.² Form (PDF, sdsos.gov)²
4. Mail the original (no photocopies) with the $30 fee (check payable to Secretary of State) to 500 E. Capitol Ave., Suite 204, Pierre, SD 57501. No bond is needed since July 1, 2025.⁹
5. Wait for the commission certificate (up to 14 business days); you may notarize only after receiving it, and must post it in your office.²

Processing time

Maximum of 14 business days from receipt.¹⁰

Renewal and continuing education

How often

Every 6 years¹

When it expires

Six years to the day; renew with the same Application & Oath and $30 no more than 60 days before expiry. To keep the same month/day the application must arrive before expiry; the SOS cannot back-date.¹¹

Renewal fee

$30¹¹

If it expires

No grace period: the commission expires at midnight on the expiry date, and acting after expiry is a Class 2 misdemeanor. A late renewal is simply a new application with a new commission date.⁵

Renew online

sdsos.gov¹¹

Moving to South Dakota with a license from another state

These are the routes SOS publishes for the Notary Public license. The other notary public licenses have their own routes in their sections below.

E-Notary

A commissioned SD notary who records at least one tamper-evident electronic notarization system with the SOS may notarize electronic records, including remote online notarization of a signer anywhere, while the notary is physically in South Dakota.⁴

Requirements

Education or training

No training or exam required.⁴

Experience

Must be a current SD notary (or apply for the commission and e-notary status together on the Application & Oath).²
License you must hold first: South Dakota notary public commission (sd-notary-public-commission)⁴

Background check

Background check required²

Also required

Select at least one tamper-evident electronic notarization system and notify the SOS of each one; the SOS does not approve vendors or keep a vendor list.¹

Also required

Remote online notarization: identify the signer by two different methods of identity proofing, note the signer's remote location in the certificate, and make an audio-visual recording kept for ten years.¹

Also required

Electronic seal must show name, "Notary Public", "South Dakota", the word "seal" and a border; expiry date outside the border.³

How to apply

1. Hold (or apply for) a SD notary commission.⁴
2. Obtain your electronic seal image from the vendor.⁴
3. File the Notary Change Form (or tick the e-notary question on a new/renewal Application & Oath) listing the vendor(s) and attaching the e-seal image.⁴ Form (PDF, sdsos.gov)⁷
4. Receive the SOS certificate listing you as an e-notary before performing electronic notarizations.⁴

From another state

The rules this license shares with every other level are under Applies to every license level.

City and county rules

Notary PublicNo local license or county filing: apply to the Secretary of State only; a commission is valid in every county.¹²

Check a license or report a problem

Before you hire a notary public in South Dakota, you can confirm the license is current on the board's own search. Every board we cover in South Dakota is on the South Dakota license lookup page.

Look up a license

sosenterprise.sd.gov¹⁰

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• SDCL §§ 18-1-1 to 18-1-14 (Notaries Public), esp. § 18-1-1
• SDCL § 12-1-4 (resident defined)
• ARSD 5:04:03:01 (application and oath) and 5:04:03:04 (change form), effective September 29, 2025
• SDCL §§ 18-1-11.1 to 18-1-11.8 (video and remote online notarization; SL 2024, ch 71)

Rule changes since January 2024

• May 22, 2026: SOS revised the Notary Public Application & Oath and Change Form (Revised 20260522).²
• September 29, 2025: ARSD 5:04:03:01 and 5:04:03:04 amended (52 SDR 32): application and change form now cover e-notary seal images and vendors.¹³
• July 1, 2025: HB 1133 (2025) repealed the $5,000 notary surety bond for new and renewing notaries; notaries commissioned earlier are unaffected until renewal.¹⁴

Common questions

Notary public licenses in other states

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