Title 32, MOTOR VEHICLES

Mailing fees in chapters 32-3A , 32-5 , 32-6B , 32-6C , 32-7A , 32-7B , 32-9 , and 32-10 shall be reviewed by the Legislature every four years. Source: SL 2023, ch 98 , § 10, eff. Mar. 14, 2023.

There is imposed an additional, nonrefundable motor vehicle technology fee on any transaction performed pursuant to chapters 32-3 , 32-3A , 32-5 , 32-9 , and 32-10 , which is subject to an existing fee. The additional fee is two dollars per transaction. Fees collected under this …

A superintendent, appointed by the secretary of the Department of Public Safety shall, under the direction of such secretary, have charge of the Division of Highway Patrol. Such secretary shall continue to have charge and custody of all records, accounts, files, equipment, motor …

The Division of Highway Patrol shall continue within the Department of Public Safety, and all its functions shall be performed by the Department of Public Safety. The director of the Division of the Highway Patrol shall be the superintendent of the highway patrol, provided for un…

The compensation of each agent, patrolman, and employee of the Division of Highway Patrol is set by the Department of Public Safety. Any employee who has worked five years is entitled to longevity compensation each month equal to four dollars for each year of all continuous servi…

Compensation fixed under § 32-2-10 and expenses incurred by agents, patrolmen, and employees of the Division of Highway Patrol, and the salary of the superintendent, may be paid out of the state highway fund, and such payments shall be made upon vouchers properly executed and pre…

Except as otherwise specifically provided, the Division of Highway Patrol is entrusted with the enforcement of all laws, police regulations, and rules governing the operation of motor vehicles and motor carriers. Source: SDC 1939 § 44.0605.

The superintendent of the highway patrol shall furnish bond in such form as required by and in such amount as may be designated by the Department of Public Safety, such bond to be approved by the attorney general and filed with the secretary of state. The premium for such bond sh…

The Department of Public Safety shall establish an adequate highway patrol by the employment of full-time employees as it deems adequate. The employees shall be known and commissioned as agents of the Division of Highway Patrol. Each full-time employee is required to pass suitabl…

The Department of Public Safety shall have power to purchase equipment, including automobiles, motorcycles, radios, firearms, and any other equipment that may be necessary properly to equip agents operating under the Division of Highway Patrol. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.0604 (1); SL…

Agents, patrol officers, motor carrier enforcement officers, and motor carrier inspectors of the Department of Public Safety shall assist in the enforcement of all laws, police regulations, and rules governing motor vehicles and motor carriers over and upon the highways of this s…

Agents, patrol officers, motor carrier enforcement officers, and motor carrier inspectors of the Department of Public Safety shall place violators of any of the laws or police regulations of this state, governing operation of motor vehicles or motor carriers, under arrest without…

Arrest powers for motor carrier inspectors employed by the Division of Highway Patrol are limited to violations of chapters 10-47B , 32-5 , 32-9 , 32-10 , 32-12 , 32-12A , 32-22 , 40-19 , 40-20 , 40-21 , 49-28 , and 49-28A and §§ 50-4-13 to 50-4-17 , inclusive, and § 32-33-17 , a…

Agents, patrolmen, and employees of the Division of Highway Patrol shall prevent and detect crime, apprehend criminals, enforce the criminal and traffic laws of the state, and perform such other related duties as may be legally imposed upon them. Such agents, patrolmen, and emplo…

Terms used in chapters 32-3 to 32-5B , inclusive, mean: (1) "Approved entity," any person who receives or transfers a vehicle title by sale, gift, or any means, and who is authorized by the department to use the electronic title and registration system to validate ownership and f…

No person, except as provided in this chapter, obtaining or acquiring possession of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer acquires any right, title, claim, or interest in or to the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer, until he has been issued a certificate of title to the m…

A certificate of title issued under this chapter shall be evidence or indicia of ownership of the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer described on the title. From the time of delivery of possession of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to a person acquiring the vehicle o…

An owner, or any person without the consent of the owner, who operates or has possession of a motor vehicle in this state under a registration number of this state, without first securing a certificate of title as provided in this chapter, is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Sour…

Any person who sells or transfers a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer without complying with the requirements of this chapter is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.9908; SL 1955, ch 184 ; SL 1986, ch 242 , § 29; SL 1989, ch 257 , § 15.

Any person who knowingly makes any false statement of a material fact, either on the application for the certificate of title provided for in this chapter, or in any assignment thereof, is guilty of a Class 5 felony. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.9911; SL 1989, ch 257 , § 16.

Any person who alters or forges, or causes to be altered or forged, any certificate of title issued by the State of South Dakota pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, or any assignment thereof, or any person who shall hold or use any such certificate or assignment knowing t…

The department shall prescribe and adopt a uniform method of numbering certificates of title which is unique and for which the numbers may not be duplicated. The department shall appropriately file and index all records by title number. Applications, certificates of titles, and a…

Certificates of title issued by the secretary of state before July 1, 1951, shall be sufficient for the purposes of this chapter and for registration and licensing until the motor vehicle therein described on the certificate shall be transferred or otherwise disposed of or until …

Application for a certificate of title shall be made to the county treasurer, upon a form prescribed by the secretary. The application shall contain a listing of all owners along with either a South Dakota driver license number or social security number, or, if a business, the fe…

If an application made to the county treasurer for a certificate of title pursuant to § 32-3-18 is received and processed entirely by mail, the county treasurer may charge an administration fee for the processing of the title application. An administration fee charged under this …

Any owner who chooses to title a motor vehicle, off-road vehicle, or snowmobile in South Dakota, but who does not have a South Dakota-issued driver license or identification card, or a physical address in South Dakota, shall pay a one-hundred-dollar fee in addition to the title a…

Any person who makes any false affidavit, or knowingly swears or affirms falsely, to any matter or thing required by the terms of this chapter to be sworn or affirmed to, is guilty of perjury, and punishable by a fine and imprisonment as other persons committing perjury are punis…

The provisions of chapters 32-3 to 32-6B , inclusive, apply to all motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, and motorcycles as defined in § 32-3-1 required to be titled under the laws of this state except as otherwise provided by law. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.0202 (1) as added by SL…

Mopeds as defined in § 32-3-1 shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter unless an applicant wishes to obtain title to a moped. Source: SL 1978, ch 230 , § 9; SL 1989, ch 257 , § 4.

Any farm wagon, farm implement drawn by another vehicle, or farm vehicle which is designed and used primarily for tillage, harvesting, or transportation of agricultural products or farm property by or for agricultural producers is exempt from the provisions of this chapter, unles…

If the vehicle identification number of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is changed, the owner shall within fifteen days make application as provided in this chapter for a new certificate of title setting forth all additional pertinent facts and shall surrender the former…

The department may not title or issue a license for the operation of any motor vehicle without a vehicle identification number, except, the department may authorize the titling of motor vehicles by a number other than the vehicle identification number and when so titled, the numb…

The department shall assign a distinguishing vehicle identification number to comply with the standardized replacement vehicle identification number system to any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer or any component part if the vehicle identification number is illegible, destr…

The fee for assignment of a vehicle identification number is twenty - five dollars. The fee is payable to the county treasurer's office at the time of application for a rebuilt title. The county treasurer shall forward to the Division of Motor Vehicles the rebuilt title applicati…

If a certificate of title has not previously been issued for any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer in this state, the application for a certificate of title, unless otherwise provided for in this chapter, shall be accompanied by a manufacturer's statement of origin or a manu…

The burden of proving his ownership and title shall be upon the applicant for a certificate of title. If satisfied that the applicant is the owner of the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer and the application is in proper form, the secretary shall issue a certificate of title…

If an application for title and registration is filed by a dealer on behalf of a customer,the application shall be filed in the customer's county of residence. Source: SDC 1939, § 44.0202 (8) as added by SL 1951, ch 229 , § 2; SL 1955, ch 161 ; SL 1965, ch 186 , § 2; SL 1989, ch …

In any transfer of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer, the application for certificate of title shall be filed within forty-five days after the date of assignment of such motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer. However, licensed dealers need not apply for a certificate of t…

Except as provided in § 32-3-26 for licensed dealers, if the application for certificate of title is presented more than forty-five days after date of assignment of the certificate of title or the manufacturer's certificate of origin of the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer …

The secretary shall issue the certificate of title in paper form or electronic form. If there is no lien noted on the certificate of title or a paper copy is requested pursuant to § 32-3-70 , the secretary shall sign the original certificate of title, deliver the paper copy certi…

In the case of lost certificates of title, duplicates may be issued if the loss is accounted for to the satisfaction of the secretary. Any lien to be noted on a certificate of title shall be evidenced by a copy of the security interest when a person applies for a duplicate certif…

No manufacturer, importer, dealer, or other person may sell or otherwise dispose of a new motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to a dealer without delivering to the dealer a manufacturer's statement of origin or manufacturer's certificate of origin duly executed in accordance w…

Any new mobile home, new manufactured home, or mobile home or manufactured home which has not been registered in this state shall, upon its sale, be initially registered and titled pursuant to this chapter, and the initial registration fee provided in § 32-5-16.1 shall be collect…

An owner of a mobile or manufactured home fixed to real property owned by the applicant may request that the title to the home be surrendered if a title has been issued in accordance with § 32-3-3.1 and payment of the initial registration fee has been made in accordance with § 32…

An owner of a mobile or manufactured home may choose to obtain a title on a mobile or manufactured home whose title was surrendered. Before the mobile or manufactured home is removed from real property, the owner shall submit to the department a current tax affidavit from the cou…

Except as provided in §§ 32-3-6 , 32-3-24 , and 32-3-32 , every motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer certificate of title, upon transfer of ownership, shall contain a complete record showing the chain of title of such motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer from the owner named …