Title 32, MOTOR VEHICLES

An electric bicycle, as defined in § 32-20B-9 , is exempt from this chapter. Source: SL 2019, ch 135 , § 10.

In addition to the license fees paid pursuant to the provisions of this chapter for a motor vehicle, the owner of an electric motor vehicle shall pay an annual fee of one hundred dollars. The fee must be paid at the time of annual registration as otherwise provided in this chapte…

A non-resident owner of an off-road vehicle not currently registered for on-road use, that meets the requirements of § 32-20-13 and is brought into the state for noncommercial use on the public highways of this state, shall purchase a decal. The decal allows the off-road vehicle …

Application for the decal authorized by § 32-5-189 shall be made to the department or a county treasurer. The application shall be on a form approved by the secretary and contain the names of all owners, each owner’s social security number, a description of the off-road vehicle w…

If the application required by § 32-5-190 is processed solely by the department, the fee shall be deposited into the state motor vehicle fund. If the application is processed by a county treasurer and reviewed by the department, half of the fee shall be deposited in the state mot…

Any owner of a motor vehicle, who is a resident of this state, who served as a firefighter for more than ten years, and who has complied with all the laws of this state in relation to the registration of a motor vehicle, may receive plates bearing a special number and design or a…

Any person applying for a retired firefighter plate shall submit an application, on a form prescribed by the secretary, and signed by the local fire chief, to the county treasurer of the applicant's county of residence. Any applicant who submits a falsified application is guilty …

Any owner of a motor vehicle who is a resident of this state and who has complied with all of the laws of this state in relation to the registration of a motor vehicle may receive habitat conservation specialty plates. The specialty plates must be issued only upon proof of paymen…

An administrative fee of ten dollars must be charged for habitat conservation specialty plates. The fee must be deposited into the license plate special revenue fund. Source: SL 2024, ch 113 , § 2, eff. Mar. 1, 2025.

The habitat conservation specialty plate must be designed by the Department of Game, Fish and Parks and approved by the secretary of the Department of Revenue. The specialty plates must be reflectorized and designed to have a habitat conservation emblem placed on the plate. The h…

The Department of Game, Fish and Parks, and its agents, may sell the habitat conservation emblems and are responsible for the administration of the habitat conservation emblem. Fees for the habitat conservation emblems must be set by rules promulgated by the Game, Fish and Parks …

No emblems other than a habitat conservation emblem may be used on the habitat conservation specialty plate. The habitat conservation emblem may not be affixed to any other emblem specialty plate. Misuse of the habitat conservation emblems or use of unauthorized emblems or sticke…

Habitat conservation specialty plates must be transferred and replaced in the same manner as emblem specialty plates pursuant to §§ 32-5-171 to 32-5-173 , inclusive. Source: SL 2024, ch 113 , § 6, eff. Mar. 1, 2025.

Every owner, or with written authorization, any other person, as defined in § 2-14-2 , on behalf of and as the agent for the owner, of a motor vehicle, motorcycle, truck tractor, road tractor, trailer or semitrailer, or recreational vehicle or trailer operated or driven upon the …

The annual registration of noncommercial vehicles shall be staggered throughout the year excluding the months of April, October, and December. Source: SL 1987, ch 215 , § 1; SL 2018, ch 177 , § 1.

At the time of sale of a vehicle, the seller shall file a report of sale with the department indicating the purchaser's name and address. Failure to file such a report is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 2007, ch 173 , § 12, eff. July 1, 2008.

A five dollar fee shall be assessed for any reassignment of a license plate or set of plates. Source: SL 2009, ch 150 , § 2.

The first letter of the owner's last name shall determine the month in which a noncommercial vehicle owner shall register the vehicle. For a corporation or limited liability company, the first letter in its name shall be used. The registration shall proceed as follows: January A,…

All owners shall continue to renew the registrations of their vehicles during the month assigned to the first initial of their last name. Each registration fee shall be prorated on a monthly basis. All license plates or validation stickers issued on a staggered basis shall expire…

A person who acquires a motor vehicle required to be annually registered shall, at the time of application and no later than forty-five days after the date of purchase apply for a certificate of title or transfer of title, register the vehicle until the appropriate month assigned…

A person may renew a noncommercial vehicle registration anytime less than ninety days prior to the vehicle's registration expiration date. Any person who renews a noncommercial vehicle registration after the date of expiration shall pay the full year's fee required by this chapte…

If the ownership of a vehicle registered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter is transferred or assigned, the transferor shall remove the number plates from the vehicle and shall receive credit for the unexpired months at the time the plates are attached to another vehicle.…

If a vehicle is sold or transferred, the seller shall provide the purchaser with a seller's permit that allows for the movement of the vehicle until registered but no later than forty-five days from the date of purchase. Failure to comply with this section is a Class 2 misdemeano…

A multi-passenger quadricycle, as defined in § 32-14-17 , is exempt from this chapter. Source: SL 2024, ch 118 , § 6.

For purposes of this chapter, a motorbus is any vehicle, with a seating capacity of sixteen or more persons, including the driver, used in the transportation of persons. The annual license fee for noncommercial motorbuses shall be paid based on the noncommercial vehicle fee sched…

A motor vehicle acquired from the State of South Dakota or any of its governmental subdivisions, a motor vehicle licensed under any special license provisions of this state, a motor vehicle previously registered in South Dakota but currently licensed in another state or a motor v…

If a registered and licensed motor vehicle is destroyed by collision or fire, disposed of for salvage, or if rejected or condemned for use on the highways as the result of action by any inspection authority of this state, the registered owner of the current license plates thereon…

The department shall issue to the several county treasurers authorizations to refund to the lawful owner of any motor vehicle from current collections of motor vehicle license fees for overpayments or for any motor vehicle license fee paid in error, past or future, paid by the ow…

Except as otherwise provided in § 32-5-27 , dealers in motor vehicles who have paid the dealers' license fee and complied with chapter 32-6B may not be required to pay the registration fee provided in §§ 32-5-5 to 32-5-9 , inclusive. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.0108 (7); SL 1973, ch 1…

Any person, except a licensed vehicle dealer, which brings into the state or purchases any used or secondhand out-of-state motor vehicle that is not currently licensed in this state for the purpose of sale or resale, except a vehicle receiving a junking certificate, a motor vehic…

Proof that a person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, association, trust, or corporation has engaged in the sale of five or more used motor vehicles in the course of one period of twelve consecutive months is prima facie evidence that such person, firm, partnership, …

The application required by § 32-5-2 shall also state the name of each owner along with the owner's South Dakota driver license number or social security number, or, if a business, the federal employer identification number, of the motor vehicle, the owner's residence post office…

If any noncommercial motor vehicle, according to the manufacturer's model year designation, is ten years old or more on January first of the year for which a license fee is required, such fee shall be seventy percent of the fee ordinarily prescribed. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.0108 (…

Any person who is an owner of a motor vehicle, motorcycle, truck tractor, road tractor, trailer, semitrailer, or recreational vehicle or trailer, who is required to apply for registration under chapter 32-3 , 32-5 , 32-5B , 32-9 , or 32-10 , and whose legal residence or chief pla…

The county treasurer shall forward each nonnegotiable interstate title to the department with the application for registration. The department shall determine that such certificate was valid at the time of application for registration. Source: SL 1969, ch 179 ; SL 1988, ch 236 , …

Any motor vehicle that is the property of this state, the United States, a county, a township, a municipality, an improvement district as defined in § 7-25A-1 , a public or nonpublic school accredited by the Department of Education, an Indian mission school in this state, an Indi…

Motor vehicles which are the property of nonprofit community support providers (sheltered workshops) recognized or approved by the Department of Education in this state, and which are used exclusively by such nonprofit community support providers (sheltered workshops), may be reg…

Any motor vehicle owned by the state, a municipality, or county that is used to provide mass transportation services shall be registered, upon application, in the manner provided for other motor vehicles. No fees may be charged for the registration of the vehicle. The department,…

All state - owned motor vehicles shall have identifying markings printed on both sides thereof. The design size and description of the markings shall be specified by the commissioner of human resources and administration. This section does not apply to the vehicles used by the of…

The department shall issue to motor vehicles, owned by public corporations listed in § 32-5-42 or school buses owned by individuals who contract with public school corporations and use the vehicles solely for the purpose of transporting school students and school employees, licen…

Section 32-5-16.1 applies to all mobile homes not previously registered in this state. However, a mobile home owned by a nonresident coming into this state from another state, a mobile home purchased and owned by a member of the armed forces while on duty in the United States and…

The provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise specifically provided, relative to registration, payment of license fees, and display of registration numbers do not apply to any motor vehicles owned by a nonresident of this state, if the owner has complied with the provisions…

A nonresident within the meaning of § 32-5-46 is a person who does not reside in this state. If present in this state for more than ninety days, a person is considered a resident for the purposes of § 32-5-46 . Source: SDC 1939, § 44.0112; SL 1951, ch 225 ; SL 1981, ch 233 ; SL 1…

A nonresident within the meaning of § 32-5-46 shall include any nonresident who is stationed in this state while in the military service of the United States or who is assigned in this state under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 and any dependent of such nonresident. S…

The provisions of § 32-5-46 as to the exemption from registration of any motor vehicle owned by a nonresident shall apply only to the extent that under the law of the state of his residence like exemptions and privileges are granted to motor vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, truck…

Any motor vehicle or trailer owned and operated by a nonresident engaged in the harvest of agricultural products may be operated upon the highways, roads, and streets of this state without being registered. However, such motor vehicles shall comply with the provisions of chapter …