South Dakota Background Check Guide · 2025
Whether you're applying for a healthcare role at Sanford or Avera in Sioux Falls, a tourism job in the Black Hills, a faculty position at SDSU in Brookings, or a teaching license through the Department of Education in Pierre, the employer is pulling your record through the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). The DCI runs the state's official criminal history repository, and they make a personal self-check available for $44.50 combined state and federal.
This guide explains how South Dakota's record system works, what shows up, and how SDCL Chapter 23A-3, the state's expungement statute, can clear eligible records from your file.
South Dakota's criminal records flow from 66 counties plus tribal jurisdictions across a geographically large but lightly populated state. With law enforcement spread across that geography, disposition gaps in the DCI database are real, and a self-check is the best way to know what your file actually contains.
DCI data is pulled from county sheriffs, the Highway Patrol, municipal police, and the Unified Judicial System. Common errors: cases listed as "open" long after dismissal, identity matches with similar names (a particular issue in counties with smaller populations), and dispositions from rural counties that lag months behind the actual court action. The $44.50 self-check finds these.
South Dakota expungement orders from circuit courts have to make their way to the DCI to actually clear the record from the state file. Running a self-check 30–60 days after the court grants expungement confirms the record was actually cleared statewide.
Sanford, Avera, and other South Dakota healthcare networks run fingerprint-based background checks. So do the state's licensing boards for nursing, medicine, education, and real estate. Knowing what shows up beforehand is essential.
South Dakota's growth markets, particularly Sioux Falls, depend on commercial screening services that aggregate DCI and court data. Errors flow downstream. Fixing them at the source produces cleaner reports going forward.
Felony convictions and most Class 1 and Class 2 misdemeanor convictions processed in South Dakota circuit and magistrate courts appear on the DCI record unless expunged. The report shows offense, court, conviction date, and sentence.
Arrest records, including arrests not leading to conviction, appear on the DCI record. Under SDCL 23A-3-27, non-conviction arrests can be expunged 1 year after acquittal, dismissal, or decision not to charge.
Open and pending charges appear on the DCI record. If a case was dismissed and the disposition wasn't transmitted to DCI, the record may still show "pending" until corrected.
South Dakota allows sealing of records when a defendant is discharged from probation under SDCL 23A-27-17. The sealing isn't automatic, the order has to be entered by the court.
Federal court records, out-of-state convictions, juvenile records (sealed by default), most traffic offenses (excluding DUI), tribal court records (separate jurisdiction), and civil cases fall outside the DCI system. A complete personal check usually combines the state report with federal and multi-state sources.
The official statewide route is the DCI background check by mail. Get fingerprinted at any law enforcement agency in South Dakota (some offer free fingerprinting for residents), then mail the fingerprint card and signed authorization to the DCI in Pierre along with a check or money order for $44.50. This covers both state and FBI portions. Form available at atg.sd.gov/LawEnforcement/Identification/bgcheckmail.aspx. Turnaround is typically 2–4 weeks.
For South Dakota records only (without the FBI national portion), the state-only check costs $24. Submitted the same way, fingerprint card by mail to DCI in Pierre.
The Unified Judicial System's Public Access Records (UJS PARS) at ujs.sd.gov provides public access to circuit court records. Available at courthouse public-access terminals statewide.
For a single report combining South Dakota DCI data with federal courts, multi-state records, and sex offender registries, a professional service is fastest. Background-Check.com consolidates all of this in one report.
For nationwide coverage based on fingerprints, request an Identity History Summary directly from the FBI. Essential if you've lived in multiple states.
South Dakota's expungement statute is petition-based. Key provisions:
Conviction expungement in South Dakota is more limited than non-conviction expungement and requires specific statutory authority (e.g., successful completion of certain diversion programs).
Allows a court to seal records when a defendant is discharged from probation, particularly for first-time offenders. Petition-based and judicially discretionary.
One of South Dakota's most useful first-offender provisions. Under SDCL 23A-27-13, a court may suspend imposition of sentence, meaning no conviction is formally entered, and after successful completion of probation, the case can be dismissed and the record sealed.
South Dakota has no statewide Ban the Box law. Private employers can ask about criminal history on initial job applications. Some state agencies operate under internal policies but there is no statutory protection.
Third-party background checks in South Dakota are governed by the FCRA: written consent required, pre-adverse-action notice required, right to dispute errors, and 7-year cap on non-conviction reporting.
South Dakota's nine federally recognized tribes, including the Oglala Sioux, Rosebud Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux, and Standing Rock Sioux, operate their own court systems. Records from tribal courts are not in the DCI state database and not subject to SDCL 23A-3 expungement procedures.
If you have any suspended imposition of sentence, any deferred prosecution, any older arrest you're not sure was closed, or any expungement order you've never verified at the DCI level, yes, the $44.50 combined check is the cleanest way to know exactly what employers and licensing boards will see. The fingerprint-based process catches identity-confusion errors that name-based checks miss.
For a comprehensive personal report combining South Dakota DCI data with federal records, sex offender registries, and out-of-state convictions, run a multi-source check through Background-Check.com.
The official route is the DCI combined state + FBI check: $44.50 by mail with fingerprints. For state-only coverage, $24. For free court searches, use the UJS PARS at any courthouse. For broader coverage, request an FBI Identity History Summary or use a professional multi-state service.
South Dakota has no state cap on conviction reporting. The federal FCRA caps non-conviction records (arrests not leading to conviction) at 7 years on third-party employment reports. Expunged records are removed entirely.
Records expunged under SDCL 23A-3 should be removed from the DCI database and should not appear on FCRA-compliant employer background reports. Because South Dakota expungements aren't automatic, verify yours was processed by running a self-check after the court order.
DCI combined state + FBI: $44.50. DCI state-only: $24. FBI Identity History Summary: $18. Professional comprehensive multi-state checks: $20 to $80.
Yes, when they use a third-party background check company, the federal FCRA requires written authorization. South Dakota has no statewide Ban the Box law, so private employers can ask about criminal history on initial applications. You always have the right to see any report used in a hiring decision and dispute inaccuracies.