How long do I have to transfer a vehicle title in South Dakota?

45 calendar days from the date of purchase (the date the title was assigned to you). A late title fee of $1 for every week past the 45 days, capped at $50 from twenty-six weeks. Interest also runs on the unpaid 4% excise tax from the 45th day, and a one-time 10% penalty attaches after 60 days. Applying more than 90 days after the assignment date is a Class 2 misdemeanour, and a seller who files a written complaint that you failed to transfer within 45 days can also make it a Class 2 misdemeanour.

How much does a title transfer cost in South Dakota?

The base title fee is $10. The statutory certificate of title fee under SDCL 32-3-18, paid to the county treasurer, of which $5 goes to the state motor vehicle fund and $5 to the county general fund. It excludes the $2 technology fee added on 1 July 2025 - Form 1001 prints the two together as $12.00 - and excludes the 4% motor vehicle excise tax, the weight-and-age license fee, the county wheel tax, the $1 solid waste and $1 highway patrol fees, the $10 lien notation fee, the $1-per-week late fee past 45 days and the $100 administration fee charged to applicants with no South Dakota license, ID card or physical address. South Dakota charges a 4% motor vehicle excise tax on the purchase price of a vehicle acquired for use on its streets and highways, collected by the county treasurer with the title application and in lieu of ordinary sales tax. Failure to pay the full amount is a Class 1 misdemeanour.

Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in South Dakota?

Sometimes required. An ordinary South Dakota title transfer is not notarised. Form 1001 and Form 1002 are signed under an Unsworn Declaration - "I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of South Dakota that the foregoing is true and correct" - and the title assignment, the bill of sale, the odometer disclosure, the report of sale and the power of attorney all carry no notary block.

Does the seller have to notify the title authority in South Dakota?

Yes. South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division. File a Seller's Report of Sale with the county treasurer at the time of sale from the sale or transfer of the vehicle. Failure to file the report of sale is a Class 2 misdemeanour. Until it is filed - and the title record does not change until the buyer submits the title for transfer - the state's record still shows you as the owner of the vehicle.

Transferring a vehicle title in South Dakota

Issued by South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division. Choose your situation below — the buyer’s and seller’s obligations are listed separately, and every answer links to the official source.

Title fee: $10base title fee
Deadline: 45 daysfrom the date of purchase (the date the title was assigned to you)
Documents: 5incl. 1001
Where: Countytax office, in person

South Dakota transfers ownership by assignment on the reverse of the certificate of title - a separate bill of sale is not accepted in place of that assignment. The buyer then has 45 days from the purchase date to take the assigned title and a Motor Vehicle/Boat Title & Registration Application (Form 1001) to the county treasurer in the buyer's county of residence and pay the $10 title fee, the $2 technology fee, the 4% motor vehicle excise tax and the license fees. Three separate duties fall on the seller in South Dakota and each is a Class 2 misdemeanour if missed: deliver the endorsed title within 45 days, give the buyer a free 45-day seller's permit, and file a Seller's Report of Sale with the county treasurer at the time of sale. Plates stay with the seller, not the car.

8 things this answer does not settle

Two current Department of Revenue pages give different interest rates for late payment of the motor vehicle excise tax. The All Vehicles - Title, Fees & Registration page and the Individual FAQs both say interest runs at "1% or $5, whichever is greater, for the first month; and 1% per month thereafter"; the Cars, Trucks & Vans page says "1-1/4% or $5 fee, whichever is greater, for the first month; and 1-1/4% per month thereafter". The Division's 2016 Procedures Manual agrees with the 1% figure. Nothing published reconciles the two, so budget for the higher rate if you are late.
The Division's Procedures Manual, dated 30 August 2016, is the only published account of several everyday procedures - the succession affidavit, probate transfers, duplicate title rules, the plate-stays-with-the-vehicle exceptions and the tax reciprocity tables. Parts of it are demonstrably out of date: it still applies the odometer exemption to vehicles ten or more years old, where the current Forms 1001, 1002 and 1021 use the federal model-year-2011 and twenty-year tests. Where the manual and a current form disagree, this record follows the form.
Titles are issued through the individual county treasurer offices listed on the Department's Contact County Treasurers page, and the Department directs applicants to their own county office for acceptable methods of payment. Sixteen counties add a $25 administration fee where a title is applied for entirely by post, and every county sets its own wheel tax by vehicle weight, so the total at the counter varies by county.
The Department published a notice on 7 March 2025 warning that title processing was running three to four months behind because of the 605Drive system changeover, with an expedited-request route for people moving out of state or transferring ownership. That notice has not been updated, so current processing times are unknown.
South Dakota is mid-migration between two online systems. Current pages point to the my605drive Vehicle Registration & Plates portal, while the Cars, Trucks & Vans page and the 2016 Procedures Manual still send sellers to mysdcars.sd.gov for a seller's permit or a report of sale.
South Dakota publishes no single figure for what a private buyer pays at the counter. The 4% excise tax, the county wheel tax and the weight-and-age license fee are each published separately and the county treasurer totals them, so the only reliable estimate comes from the treasurer's office itself.
The Department says it will launch an online private-party title transfer inside my605drive "later this summer" but publishes no date. When it opens, the seller will not need to sign the back of the paper title, provide a federal odometer statement, create a bill of sale, generate a seller's permit or submit a report of sale - so the paper route described here may change at short notice.
South Dakota does not publish what identification a buyer must physically present at the county counter. The title application asks for a license, ID, social security or FEIN number, but no page states whether the document itself has to be shown.

Do this first

Check the title record before you hand over money. South Dakota has been an Electronic Lien & Title state since October 2012, so a vehicle with an outstanding loan has no paper title at all - the seller cannot show you one. Enter the VIN in the VIN CHECK tool in the Vehicle Registration & Plates portal to see whether a lienholder is recorded against it.
Take the certificate of title with the assignment on the reverse completed in your name, showing the date of purchase. Do not accept a bill of sale instead: the Division states that a separate bill of sale will not be accepted in addition to or in place of a South Dakota certificate of title or a required assignment.

Your checklist

Check the title record before you hand over money. South Dakota has been an Electronic Lien & Title state since October 2012, so a vehicle with an outstanding loan has no paper title at all - the seller cannot show you one. Enter the VIN in the VIN CHECK tool in the Vehicle Registration & Plates portal to see whether a lienholder is recorded against it.Official page
Take the certificate of title with the assignment on the reverse completed in your name, showing the date of purchase. Do not accept a bill of sale instead: the Division states that a separate bill of sale will not be accepted in addition to or in place of a South Dakota certificate of title or a required assignment.Official page
Take the free 45-day seller's permit from the seller. It is what lets you legally move the vehicle between the purchase and the registration, and the seller commits a Class 2 misdemeanour by not giving you one.Official page
Take a completed Bill of Sale (Form 1025) showing what you actually paid. Without a bill of sale the county treasurer must assess the 4% excise tax on the retail value in a nationally recognised dealers' guide instead of on the price - and if the price is far below book value, make sure the seller has described the vehicle's condition in the box on the form, or the tax is charged on book value anyway.1025Official page
Complete a Motor Vehicle/Boat Title & Registration Application (Form 1001): tick "Title Transfer" in section A; fill in the VIN, year, make, model, body type, weight and colours in section B; enter the odometer reading if the vehicle is model year 2011 or newer; list every owner in section C with a South Dakota driver license number, ID number, social security number or FEIN; and sign the Unsworn Declaration in section H.1001Official page
Take the assigned title, Form 1001 and the bill of sale to the county treasurer in your county of residence within 45 days of the purchase date and pay the $10 title fee plus the $2 technology fee, the 4% motor vehicle excise tax, the license (registration) fee for the vehicle's weight and age, the county wheel tax, and the $1 solid waste and $1 highway patrol fees.1001Official page
Bring the license plates from your own previous vehicle with you. South Dakota is a plate-with-owner state: the plates went home with the seller, and you either attach a plate already registered to you - which gives you credit for its unexpired months - or buy a new plate at the counter.Official page
If you need longer than the seller's 45-day permit, buy a 5 to 15 day temporary permit from any county treasurer at $1 per day with a $5 minimum. Only one such permit is issued per vehicle per year, and you must keep the title or bill of sale in the vehicle for inspection by a peace officer.Applies when: You cannot complete the title transfer before the seller's 45-day permit expires.Official page

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The seller's checklist

Complete the assignment on the reverse of the South Dakota certificate of title, signing exactly as your name appears on the face of the title. If the title names two owners joined by "and", both must sign; if it says "or", either may sign.Official page
Complete the odometer disclosure printed on the title assignment before you hand the title over, marking the reading Actual Mileage, Exceeds Mechanical Limits or Not Actual Mileage. Falsifying it is a Class 6 felony, and the Division may refuse to transfer the title if it is left blank.Official page
Deliver the endorsed certificate of title to the buyer within 45 days of the sale. Failing to do so is a Class 2 misdemeanour. If the buyer defaults on the terms of the sale inside those 45 days you do not have to deliver the title, but you must notify the Division in writing within 14 days of the default.Official page
Give the buyer a free seller's permit, valid 45 days, so they can drive the vehicle before it is registered. Print it yourself from the Vehicle Registration & Plates portal or get it at your county treasurer's office. Failure to provide it is a Class 2 misdemeanour, and a seller's permit cannot be issued for a boat or a snowmobile.Official page
File a Seller's Report of Sale (Form 1024) with your local county treasurer at the time of sale, or file the report of sale in the Vehicle Registration & Plates portal. The form says in terms: do not give this form to the buyer. Failure to file it is a Class 2 misdemeanour, and it is what protects you from liability for the vehicle's movement after the sale date, because the title record does not change until the buyer submits the title.1024Official page
Take your license plates off the vehicle. South Dakota requires the transferor to remove the number plates, and you get credit for the unexpired months when you attach them to another vehicle. There is no refund if you never reattach them, and leaving them on the car forfeits the credit and is a Class 2 misdemeanour.Official page
Give the buyer a completed and signed Bill of Sale (Form 1025) stating the date of sale, the purchaser's name and the price. If the price is well below book value, describe the vehicle's condition in the box on the form - the form warns that otherwise the excise tax is charged on the dealers' guide retail value.1025Official page

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Both of you, together

Complete the odometer disclosure together where the title's own disclosure block cannot be used - for example where the title was electronic or reissued as a duplicate. On Form 1021 the seller signs section D certifying the reading and the buyer signs section E acknowledging it, both dated with the date of sale. The form is needed for any vehicle less than 20 years old weighing under 16,000 pounds.Applies when: The odometer disclosure block on the face of the title is unavailable or unusable.1021Official page

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Documents and official forms

South Dakota certificate of title, with the assignment on the reverse completed and signed by every recorded owner and the odometer disclosure filled inThe Division does not accept a separate bill of sale in place of the assignment.
1001Motor Vehicle/Boat Title & Registration ApplicationSection A ticked "Title Transfer". Signed under the Unsworn Declaration in section H - no notary.
1025Bill of SaleSDCL 32-5B-4(3) requires the purchaser and seller to submit a bill of sale to the county treasurer; without one the excise tax is assessed on dealers' guide retail value.
A South Dakota driver license number, state ID number, social security number or FEIN for every person who will appear on the new titleRequired by SDCL 32-3-18 as part of the title application; the number goes in the Identification # box for each owner in section C of Form 1001.
1024Seller's Report of SaleCan be filed instead through the Vehicle Registration & Plates portal.

Also required in some cases

The odometer disclosure block on the title itself cannot be used and the vehicle is less than 20 years old and under 16,000 pounds.

1021Odometer Disclosure

Someone other than the record owner signs the title assignment or the title application.

1023Power of Attorney - MVD

You are an enrolled member of a federally recognised tribe who lived on your own reservation when you bought the vehicle.

1005Tribal Exemption Form

Deadlines

Deadline45 calendar days from the date of purchase (the date the title was assigned to you) — Buyer: Apply to your county treasurer for a South Dakota certificate of title within 45 days of the purchase dateA late title fee of $1 for every week past the 45 days, capped at $50 from twenty-six weeks. Interest also runs on the unpaid 4% excise tax from the 45th day, and a one-time 10% penalty attaches after 60 days. Applying more than 90 days after the assignment date is a Class 2 misdemeanour, and a seller who files a written complaint that you failed to transfer within 45 days can also make it a Class 2 misdemeanour.
Deadline60 calendar days from the date of purchase — Buyer: Pay the 4% motor vehicle excise tax before the 60th day after the purchase dateA one-time penalty of 10% of the tax, or $10, whichever is greater, is applied automatically to any application made after 60 days. Interest has already been running from the 45th day.
Deadline90 calendar days from the date of assignment of the certificate of title — Buyer: Apply for the title within 90 days of the date the title was assigned to youApplying for a title more than ninety days after the date of assignment is a Class 2 misdemeanour under SDCL 32-3-27.
Deadline45 calendar days from the sale and delivery of the vehicle — Seller: Deliver the endorsed certificate of title to the buyer within 45 days of the saleA violation of SDCL 32-3-7 is a Class 2 misdemeanour.
DeadlineFile a Seller's Report of Sale with the county treasurer at the time of sale from the sale of the vehicle — SellerFailure to file the report of sale is a Class 2 misdemeanour. Until it is filed, and until the buyer submits the title, the state's record still shows you as the owner.
Deadline14 calendar days from the purchaser's default on the terms of the sale — Seller: Notify the Division in writing within 14 days if the buyer defaults on the terms of the saleWithout this notice the seller remains bound by the 45-day duty to deliver the title, which is a Class 2 misdemeanour to miss.

Fees and taxes

Charge	Amount	Paid by
Base title fee	$10The statutory certificate of title fee under SDCL 32-3-18, paid to the county treasurer, of which $5 goes to the state motor vehicle fund and $5 to the county general fund. It excludes the $2 technology fee added on 1 July 2025 - Form 1001 prints the two together as $12.00 - and excludes the 4% motor vehicle excise tax, the weight-and-age license fee, the county wheel tax, the $1 solid waste and $1 highway patrol fees, the $10 lien notation fee, the $1-per-week late fee past 45 days and the $100 administration fee charged to applicants with no South Dakota license, ID card or physical address.	Buyer
Certificate of title fee	$10The statutory title application fee under SDCL 32-3-18, paid to the county treasurer. It excludes the $2 technology fee, the 4% motor vehicle excise tax, the license (registration) fee, the county wheel tax, the $10 lien notation fee and the $100 administration fee charged to applicants without a South Dakota license, ID or physical address.	Buyer
Technology fee	$2Added to title transactions with effect from 1 July 2025. Form 1001 prints the two together on line 7 as "Title Fee + Tech Fee $12.00".	Buyer
Motor vehicle excise tax (4%)	4%Varies by the purchase price shown on the bill of sale, less any trade-in allowance. If no bill of sale is submitted, the county treasurer assesses the tax on the retail value stated in a nationally recognised dealers' guide instead..Official calculator	Buyer
License (registration) fee	VariesVaries by the vehicle's weight band and whether it is under or over ten years old, and the number of months until your surname's assigned renewal month. A 4001-6000 lb vehicle under ten years old is $9.00 a month, so $108.00 for a full twelve months; the same vehicle at ten years or older is $6.30 a month..South Dakota staggers registration by the first letter of your surname, so the first registration is prorated to the number of months left before your renewal month.Official calculator	Buyer
County wheel tax	VariesVaries by the county the vehicle is registered in and the vehicle's weight band, subject to that county's published per-owner maximum..Official calculator	Buyer
Solid waste fee	$1A flat $1 collected with the license fees.	Buyer
Highway patrol fee	$1A flat $1 collected with the license fees.	Buyer
Seller's permit (45 days)	$0South Dakota publishes the seller's permit as free. The seller must obtain and hand it over, and failing to do so is a Class 2 misdemeanour.	Seller
5 to 15 day temporary permit	$5–$15$1 per day for the number of days requested, with a $5 minimum. Only one permit per vehicle per year.Only needed if the buyer runs out of time on the seller's 45-day permit.	Buyer
Late title application fee	$1–$50$1 for each week or part of a week past the 45-day limit, for up to twenty-five weeks; at twenty-six weeks or more it becomes a flat $50. This is separate from the interest and penalty charged on the excise tax.	Buyer
Administration fee for applicants without a South Dakota license, ID or address	$100Charged on top of the title fee to anyone titling a vehicle in South Dakota who holds no South Dakota driver license or ID card and has no South Dakota physical address; a PO box or mail-forwarding address does not count. It does not apply to title corrections, duplicate titles, an insurer taking title after a covered loss, a manufacturer buy-back, or a lienholder taking title after repossession.This fee catches out-of-state buyers of South Dakota vehicles as well as full-time travellers using a South Dakota mail service.	Buyer
Plate mailing fee	$12$12 for each plate or set of plates posted to you, plus $2.50 for each registration decal set. Not charged if you collect at the counter.	Buyer

South Dakota charges a 4% motor vehicle excise tax on the purchase price of a vehicle acquired for use on its streets and highways, collected by the county treasurer with the title application and in lieu of ordinary sales tax. Failure to pay the full amount is a Class 1 misdemeanour.

Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer

Inspection: Not requiredSouth Dakota requires no inspection to transfer an ordinary vehicle with a clean title. Inspection is reserved for rebuilt and assembled vehicles, vehicles whose component parts have been changed, and applications that arrive without supporting documents.
Emissions: Not publishedNo South Dakota emissions test appears anywhere in the Department of Revenue's titling or registration requirements: the fee tables, the title application, the inspection rules and the new-resident answer name no emissions certificate.
Notarization: Not requiredAn ordinary South Dakota title transfer is not notarised. Form 1001 and Form 1002 are signed under an Unsworn Declaration - "I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of South Dakota that the foregoing is true and correct" - and the title assignment, the bill of sale, the odometer disclosure, the report of sale and the power of attorney all carry no notary block.
Odometer disclosure: Required, unless you are exempt
The vehicle's model year is 2010 or older - Form 1001 asks for the odometer reading only "for vehicles 2011 or newer", and Form 1002 repeats that limit.
The vehicle is 20 years old or more - Form 1021 says to complete the disclosure only "if the vehicle being transferred is less than 20 years old".
The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 16,000 pounds - Form 1002 asks for the reading only on vehicles "with a GVW of 16,000 lbs. or less", and Form 1021 only where the vehicle "weighs less than 16,000 pounds".
Snowmobiles, manufactured homes, off-road vehicles, trailers and boats carry no odometer disclosure.
On the sale or trade-in of a motor vehicle the owner, seller or auctioneer must accurately complete the odometer disclosure printed on the vehicle's title before surrendering or transferring it. Falsifying it is a Class 6 felony, and the Department may refuse to transfer or issue a title if it is left blank.

What happens to the plates

South Dakota is a plate-with-owner state: license plates belong to the person, not the vehicle. On a transfer the seller must take the plates off, and gets credit for the unexpired months when the plates are attached to another vehicle they own.

The seller keeps the plates
The seller may move the plates to a replacement vehicle
The buyer supplies a plate registered in their own name
The buyer gets new plates

A transferor who leaves the plates on the vehicle loses the credit, the plates stop being valid, and the omission is a Class 2 misdemeanour. There is no refund for a detached plate that is never reattached, and an unattached plate that expires before it is reattached is dead. A plate transfer can only be made between like-plated vehicles - a motorcycle plate cannot move to a car - and is allowed between vehicles registered as noncommercial, noncommercial gross weight or motor home. Plates are renewed in the month tied to the first letter of the owner's surname, so a first registration is prorated to the months left before that month. License fees themselves turn on the vehicle's weight band and whether it is under or over ten years old.

How to submit

In person at a county office
By mail

One errand at one counter. Form 1001 is called the Motor Vehicle/Boat Title & Registration Application, and South Dakota law requires a person who acquires a vehicle to apply for the title and register the vehicle at the same time, no later than 45 days after the purchase date.

Official state links

Source: South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division. Checked July 31, 2026. Report a correction

Common questions about South Dakota

How long do I have to transfer a vehicle title in South Dakota?: 45 calendar days from the date of purchase (the date the title was assigned to you). A late title fee of $1 for every week past the 45 days, capped at $50 from twenty-six weeks. Interest also runs on the unpaid 4% excise tax from the 45th day, and a one-time 10% penalty attaches after 60 days. Applying more than 90 days after the assignment date is a Class 2 misdemeanour, and a seller who files a written complaint that you failed to transfer within 45 days can also make it a Class 2 misdemeanour.
How much does a title transfer cost in South Dakota?: The base title fee is $10. The statutory certificate of title fee under SDCL 32-3-18, paid to the county treasurer, of which $5 goes to the state motor vehicle fund and $5 to the county general fund. It excludes the $2 technology fee added on 1 July 2025 - Form 1001 prints the two together as $12.00 - and excludes the 4% motor vehicle excise tax, the weight-and-age license fee, the county wheel tax, the $1 solid waste and $1 highway patrol fees, the $10 lien notation fee, the $1-per-week late fee past 45 days and the $100 administration fee charged to applicants with no South Dakota license, ID card or physical address. South Dakota charges a 4% motor vehicle excise tax on the purchase price of a vehicle acquired for use on its streets and highways, collected by the county treasurer with the title application and in lieu of ordinary sales tax. Failure to pay the full amount is a Class 1 misdemeanour.
Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in South Dakota?: Sometimes required. An ordinary South Dakota title transfer is not notarised. Form 1001 and Form 1002 are signed under an Unsworn Declaration - "I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of South Dakota that the foregoing is true and correct" - and the title assignment, the bill of sale, the odometer disclosure, the report of sale and the power of attorney all carry no notary block.
Does the seller have to notify the title authority in South Dakota?: Yes. South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division. File a Seller's Report of Sale with the county treasurer at the time of sale from the sale or transfer of the vehicle. Failure to file the report of sale is a Class 2 misdemeanour. Until it is filed - and the title record does not change until the buyer submits the title for transfer - the state's record still shows you as the owner of the vehicle.
What happens to the license plates in South Dakota?: South Dakota is a plate-with-owner state: license plates belong to the person, not the vehicle. On a transfer the seller must take the plates off, and gets credit for the unexpired months when the plates are attached to another vehicle they own.

About this page

Everything here is a summary of procedures published by official state title authorities, with a link to the source for each answer.

Unusual ownership, probate, lien, salvage, court-order or identity situations commonly require steps beyond those listed here.

We do not file anything with any agency, and we cannot submit, expedite, or check the status of a transfer. Ticking a box on this site records your own progress in your browser and nothing more.

55 official sources · last checked July 31, 2026 · How this was compiled · Report a correction