How to search South Dakota court records
South Dakota runs a single statewide case-lookup system, so one search — with the name spelled correctly — reaches courts across the entire state. Public access runs through a paid subscription vendor. Expect a per-search or per-month fee before you can see case details.
statewide fee criminal data
Open the official South Dakota portal →
What's actually there
ujsportal.sd.gov now redirects to the UJS payment site. Name searches go through PARS at $20 per search (criminal cases 1989 to present and protection orders); eCourts shows summary dockets; open records can be viewed free at courthouse terminals.
Other official lookups for South Dakota
How South Dakota's courts are organized
South Dakota runs one statewide court system, the Unified Judicial System (UJS). It has two levels: the Supreme Court at the top and the circuit courts as the trial courts. The state is split into seven judicial circuits, and every county is served by one of them.
Magistrate courts work under the supervision of the circuit courts. They handle misdemeanor criminal cases, minor civil actions and small claims, and they hold preliminary hearings in criminal cases. Because magistrate and circuit cases sit in the same statewide system, the online tools below search both.
Searching South Dakota court records online
There is no free statewide name search. The main public tool is the Public Access Records Search (PARS). Each search costs $20, charged when you submit it, even if no records are found. You search by a person's name and date of birth, and you can pay by card as a guest or ask UJS for a drawdown account if you run many searches.
PARS returns summaries from criminal cases and from domestic, stalking and foreign protection orders. Criminal cases run from 1989 to the present unless sealed. For older cases you have to ask the clerk of courts in the county where the case was filed. PARS does not cover ordinary civil cases.
UJS also runs eCourts, which shows summary docket information for public cases: party names, attorneys, documents filed, hearings, judgments and outcomes. It has a registration option, and UJS says documents are available at public access workstations in courthouses. A separate Civil Money Judgment Query, which requires a login, covers civil judgments.
- PARS: $20 per search, criminal and protection-order summaries, 1989 to present
- eCourts: summary dockets for public cases
- Courthouse public access terminals: view or print open records from a PARS summary in any South Dakota courthouse
Getting copies and certified copies
Copies come from the clerk of courts in the county where the case was filed. Open records listed in a PARS result can be viewed and printed at the public terminals in any South Dakota courthouse, not only the county that handled the case.
UJS also takes a Statewide Records Request Form covering civil records from January 2006 on and criminal records from January 1989 on. Fees apply unless you are a named party, a legal representative or a qualified agency. Under SDCL 16-2-29 the clerk charges $15 for an authenticated, exemplified or double-certified copy of a record.
Records that are not public
Under SDCL 23A-3-27, a person who was arrested can ask the court to expunge the arrest record one year after arrest if no charge was filed, one year after the prosecutor dismissed the whole case, or at any time after an acquittal. Expunged records do not appear in public searches.
SDCL 23A-3-34 removes some cases from the public record automatically. If the most serious charge was a petty offense, a municipal ordinance violation or a Class 2 misdemeanor, the case is removed after five years as long as all court-ordered conditions were met and there were no new convictions. Court staff can still see the record, and it can still be used to enhance a later sentence. For your own situation, talk to a lawyer or use the UJS self-help pages.
Tip: pick the right tool before you pay
Because PARS charges $20 even when nothing turns up, have the person's full name and date of birth ready before you search. If you only need to know when a hearing is, UJS runs a separate Find Court Date lookup. If you are near a courthouse, the public terminal there lets you look at open case records without the per-search charge.
Sources
- South Dakota UJS — Court Records Search
- South Dakota UJS — PARS
- South Dakota UJS — eCourts
- South Dakota UJS — Court structure
- South Dakota UJS — Self help
- SDCL 16-2-29 (clerk fees)
- SDCL 23A-3-27 (arrest record expungement)
- SDCL 23A-3-34 (automatic removal from public record)
- South Dakota UJS — Find Court Date
Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.
Federal cases filed in South Dakota
State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.
Search tips
- Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
- Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
- A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
- An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to search South Dakota court records online?
No — South Dakota routes public case search through a paid vendor. Budget for a per-search or subscription fee to view full case details.
Does this include criminal records?
Yes. South Dakota's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.
Does one search cover the whole state?
South Dakota runs one statewide system, so a single search covers the whole state.
Links move. If the South Dakota portal link above is dead, tell us on the corrections page.