Title 7, COUNTIES

The board of county commissioners - appointed manager form of government shall be that form in which the chief administrative officer is the county manager. The county manager shall be the administrative head of the county and is responsible for the proper administration of the a…

The board of county commissioners may appoint any county officer or employee to be the county manager by reason of training, experience, and administrative qualifications. If any county officer or employee is appointed county manager, the officer or employee shall resign the offi…

The county manager shall: (1) Provide for the proper execution of all orders, resolutions, and regulations established by the board; (2) Attend all meetings of the board and recommend measures for adoption; (3) Prepare and submit to the county board a proposed annual budget and l…

The board of county commissioners, by ordinance, or upon receiving a petition signed by not less than fifteen percent of the registered voters in the county, based upon the total number of registered voters at the last preceding general election, shall submit to the electors the …

A petition to discontinue an optional form of county government authorized by this chapter may be submitted to the board for submission to the electors of the county at an election, in the manner provided for the petition of an optional form of county government under the provisi…

The adoption or the discontinuance of an optional form of county government, as provided in this chapter, does not affect any act or contract affirmed or ratified. Source: SL 1986, ch 62 , § 8.

The register of deeds shall keep full and true records in proper books, of all deeds, mortgages, and other instruments authorized by law to be recorded in the register of deeds' office, and records of all chattel mortgages, bills of sale, conditional sale contracts, and other ins…

The functions of the register of deeds, including but not limited to, the recording of instruments, liens, satisfactions, and releases and the filing of records, as well as the index to any such record, may be accomplished by means of microfilming or computerization, as provided …

It shall be the duty of the register of deeds in each county to keep in his office and to enter therein the name of the grantor and the grantee and a sufficient description of the real estate in each transfer to perfectly identify the same and, on the last working day of each cal…

The register of deeds with whom any chattel mortgage, bill of sale, conditional sales contract, lien upon personal property, or other instrument affecting personal property, or authenticated copy of any thereof, is filed, must endorse a number upon the same in consecutive order, …

The index described in § 7-9-11 shall be substantially, or as near as may be, in the following form: Personal Property Index Vendor or Obligee Vendee or Obligor Number Date Date of Filing Nature of Instrument Amount Remarks Source: CivC 1877, § 1751; CL 1887, § 4386; RCivC 1903, …

Any register of deeds may continue to use the register index heretofore provided by law until space in such record is exhausted after which date the index provided for in §§ 7-9-11 and 7-9-12 shall be used; provided, that any such instrument is not to be deemed defectively filed …

All liens and claims in favor of the state arising under former chapter 28-4 are hereby released, satisfied, and discharged in full. The register of deeds of each county shall search the records in his office and enter such action citing this section as his authority. Source: SL …

In any county where the register of deeds shall have failed to make or keep proper indexes of the records of that office which by the laws of this state are required to be made or kept, or, where deterioration or destruction from any cause any such indexes become unusable or like…

The register of deeds shall charge and receive the following fees: (1) For recording deeds, mortgages, and all other instruments not specifically provided for in this section or this code, the sum of thirty dollars for the first fifty pages plus two dollars for each additional pa…

A register of deeds is not personally liable for any insufficient - funds or no - account checks or uncollectible accounts receivable for any transaction collected or charged if the register of deeds exercised due diligence and if such collections or charges arise in the course o…

The register of deeds shall keep a reception record and fee book to be provided by the county which shall be a part of the records of his office and in which shall be entered each item of fees charged or received by him for service rendered as such officer and which book shall al…

Within the time frame established by the county commission, the register of deeds shall deposit with the county treasurer the total amount of fees and other collections received. Unless otherwise required, all fees and other collections shall be placed to the credit of the genera…

Any register of deeds who shall neglect or omit to charge or collect the fees allowed by law for services rendered by him, or shall fail to keep a record of the same, or to make a correct statement thereof to the county auditor, or to pay over such fees to the county treasurer as…

A register of deeds may refuse to record any document that the law does not require or authorize a register to record or any document that the register has reasonable cause to believe is a counterfeit lien as defined in § 22-11-29 . Source: SL 1997, ch 45 , § 1.

The register of deeds shall obtain a seal which shall bear the following inscription: "Register of deeds of __________ county." The seal may be in a rubber, raised embosser, or electronic format and shall be used on each instrument to which the register of deeds affixes his or he…

Any person whose document or lien is refused for recording by the register of deeds pursuant to § 7-9-19 may commence an action in the circuit court for that county for an order directing the register to file the document. If the court determines that the register is required or …

If a court determines that the register acted reasonably or in good faith in refusing to record a document that the register believed should not be recorded or a document that the register believed to be a counterfeit lien, the register is not liable for any civil damages resulti…

If a register of deeds has reason to believe that a document or instrument previously recorded is counterfeit pursuant to § 22-11-29 , the register of deeds shall provide written notice of the recording of the document or instrument to the stated or last known address of the pers…

Any permanent document filed or recorded in the office of the register of deeds may be electronically preserved provided the original record is retained in hard copy or on microfilm. Source: SL 2010, ch 35 , § 1.

There is hereby established a county register of deeds modernization and preservation relief fund to be administered by the county register of deeds. The fund shall be used for modernization of information systems and preservation of property and records. The register of deeds ma…

Five dollars of each recording or filing fee collected by the register of deeds, pursuant to subdivisions 7-9-15(1), (3), (4), and (5) and §§ 11-3-11 , 43-15A-9 , and 43-20-10 , shall be deposited into the county register of deeds modernization and preservation relief fund. Sixty…

The county register of deeds modernization and preservation relief fund may not be construed to diminish the duty of the county governing body to provide for funding for salaries, personnel, supplies, equipment and other expenses for the register of deeds, even if the funding is …

There is hereby established a South Dakota association of county officials register of deeds modernization and preservation relief fund to be administered by the South Dakota Association of County Officials. Distributions, including the cost to administer the fund, shall be appro…

The fiscal year for the South Dakota association of county officials register of deeds modernization and preservation relief fund begins on July first and ends on June thirtieth. Before July thirty-first of each year, the association of county officials shall compute each county'…

Each instrument entitled by law to be recorded, shall be recorded during the office hours set pursuant to §§ 7-7-2 and 7-7-2.1 in the order and as of the date and time when the instrument is received by the register of deeds for that purpose. Source: SL 1862, ch 61 ; SL 1863-4, c…

In counties where townsites are now or may hereafter be located upon government lands, it shall be the duty of the register of deeds to procure a book to be known as the townsite deed record, in which he shall record all deeds made by the mayor of any first or second class munici…

No register of deeds may accept for record or record any deed, mortgage, or other conveyance of any platted plot of land until the plat has been accepted for record in the register of deed's office. Source: SL 1913, ch 342 , § 4; RC 1919, § 5918; SDC 1939, § 12.0709; SL 2016, ch …

No register of deeds may accept for record or record any plat of any subdivision or rearrangement of any tract of land unless it is accompanied by the certificate of the county treasurer that all taxes which are liens upon the tract so subdivided have been fully paid. This sectio…

No register of deeds may accept for record in the office of the register of deeds: (1) Any deed, affidavit terminating joint tenancy or life estate interests, or oil, gas, or other mineral lease, or affidavit for succession to real property pursuant to § 29A-3-1203 that does not …

The register of deeds shall make the information collected pursuant to § 7-9-7 available to the director of equalization and the secretary of revenue in the same manner as is required by § 7-9-10 . Source: SL 1991, ch 61 , § 3.

The form of the certificate of value required by §§ 7-9-7 and 10-13-40 shall be established by the secretary of revenue by rule promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26 . Source: SL 1991, ch 61 , § 2; SL 1999, ch 50 , § 2.

In lieu of filing the certificate of value required by § 7-9-7 when filing deeds or easements conveying highway right - of - way, the State of South Dakota shall file with the director of equalization a statement of the purchase price paid and the date the state received possessi…

Unless otherwise provided by law, a paper document that is to be recorded or filed in the register of deeds' records as provided in this section or other applicable law must contain the original signatures of the parties who execute the document and, if required to be acknowledge…

The register of deeds shall keep one numerical index of the deeds, contracts, and other instruments, not liens merely, and another such index of the mortgages and other liens, of record in his office affecting or relating to the title to real property, which indexes shall be subs…

Each register of deeds shall plainly endorse each instrument received for record, upon receipt, the date and time of reception of the instrument, and an identifying number. The identifying number may be a unique instrument number or book and page number, or both, that clearly ide…

In addition to the numerical indexes required by § 7-9-8 , there shall be kept one index of the deeds, contracts, and other instruments, not liens merely, and another of the mortgages and other instruments which are liens affecting title to real property, which indexes shall show…

Terms used in this chapter mean: (1) "Document," any information that is: (a) Inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form; and (b) Eligible to be recorded in the public records maintained by the register…

This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq.), as of January 1, 2014, but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c)) or authori…

If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be an original, be on paper or another tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic document satisfying this chapter. If a law requires or refers to something related to tangible …

A register of deeds who implements any of the functions listed in this section shall do so in compliance with standards established by the electronic recording commission. A register of deeds may: (1) Receive, index, store, archive, and transmit electronic documents; (2) Provide …