South Dakota Criminal Court Records

Choose a PARS summary or the actual court file

South Dakota’s official record-search page directs the public to PARS for summaries of public criminal cases and certain protection orders. A summary can locate a prosecution; it is not the complete file or a certified copy of every filing. If you already have a case number and need a judgment, go directly to the responsible Clerk of Courts.

PARS permits a guest search and charges $20 when each search is submitted, even when it finds nothing. Check the name, birth date and intended case category before paying. An empty result is a search outcome, not a refund promise or proof that no criminal matter has ever existed.

Prepare the guest form before submitting payment

The guest screen requires last name and date of birth, offers a last-name alias field, and blocks searches for minors. It validates at least three last-name characters. Choose Criminal rather than Protection Orders or Both when the task is limited to criminal cases. A protection-order match must not be described as a criminal conviction.

Enter and confirm the email address where the report should arrive; the guest form also provides card-payment fields. Verify the email before submission. If a name cannot be entered under the form’s rules, or a paid report is not received, contact [email protected] with the request details rather than changing the person’s identity to force the form to accept it.

Apply the 1989 boundary and public-access limits

The published criminal coverage is January 1989 to the present, excluding sealed cases. For a pre-1989 case, request the record from the county Clerk of Courts where it was filed, using Court Finder on the UJS record-search page to locate the office. Older unscanned material may require that local-file request even when newer case information is electronic.

Juvenile cases are confidential and do not appear in public record searches. Other documents can also be restricted. A record omitted for an access rule, a pre-1989 record and a record missed because the identifiers differ are three distinct possibilities; do not turn any of them into a statement that the person has no record.

Use the statewide request form as an alternative

The Statewide Record Search Request Form requires name and birth date for criminal searches and returns records matching the supplied information. List aliases on separate lines: the ordinary criminal fee is $20 for each name searched. The form also lists a $5 search when the requester certifies that it is connected with a pending state or federal action, including bankruptcy.

Submit the form to [email protected], or mail it to 500 East Capitol Avenue, Attn: Clerk Support, Pierre, SD 57501 with a check payable to South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Fees must be paid before searching. Email is preferred; include a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting mailed results. Ask support how to arrange payment for an emailed request.

Check whether the no-fee form applies

The Statewide No Fee Record Search Request Form is for a party named in the relevant South Dakota action or case file, that party’s legal representative, or a qualifying agency. It requires a signed exemption certification and full name and birth date for a criminal search. Email the completed form to [email protected].

Being curious about your own name is not the same as establishing the form’s named-party exemption for the action requested. Read the category and identify the case when applicable. A no-fee search entitlement also should not be assumed to waive every charge for an authenticated copy or other separately ordered service.

Get copies from the clerk or courthouse terminal

Open records referenced by a PARS summary can be viewed or printed at public terminals in South Dakota courthouses. For a specific document, give the holding clerk the county, case number, document title and date. State whether an ordinary, certified or authenticated copy is needed. The current July 2026 UJS schedule lists authenticated copies at $15; other copying costs depend on the format and pages. Obtain the total and payment instructions before ordering.

Compare the charge with the disposition and any later order. A summary listing a charge does not make that charge a conviction. If the record could concern someone else or lacks a final outcome, ask the holding clerk about the actual filing instead of buying repeated searches with the same uncertain identifiers.

Ask for a transcript through the court reporter

For what was said at a hearing, request a transcript rather than another PARS summary. The county clerk can identify the court reporter or recorder; most transcripts are ordered directly from that person. UJS says cost and turnaround depend on the hearing and recording method, so obtain a quote for the particular proceeding. The ordinary document-copy tariff does not establish that transcription price.