South Dakota Notary Requirements

ACCEPTABLE IDs FOR A SOUTH DAKOTA NOTARY

SDCL § 18-4-10; SDCL § 18-5-5

SDCL § 18-5-5 (Identity of person making acknowledgment to be known or proved to officer). The officer taking the acknowledgment shall know or have satisfactory evidence that the person making the acknowledgment is the person described in and who executed the instrument.

STATE IDs

South Dakota requires evidence of identity satisfactory to the notary; no specific documents are prescribed.

South Dakota Driver's License
Out of State Driver's License
South Dakota State Issued ID
Out of State State Issued ID
South Dakota License to Carry/CHL
Out of State License to Carry/CHL
South Dakota Voter ID Card*
Out of State Voter ID Card

*South Dakota does not issue this credential.

FEDERAL IDs

South Dakota requires evidence of identity satisfactory to the notary; no specific documents are prescribed.

U.S. Passport Book
U.S. Passport Card
U.S. Military ID
U.S. Military Dependent ID
Permanent Resident Card
Employment Authorization Card
VA Health ID Card
Social Security Card
Certificate of Citizenship
Certificate of Naturalization
Veteran ID Card

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT IDs

South Dakota requires evidence of identity satisfactory to the notary; no specific documents are prescribed.

State Government Employee ID
County Government Employee ID
Municipal Government Employee ID
Federal Government Employee ID

INMATE IDs

South Dakota requires evidence of identity satisfactory to the notary; no specific documents are prescribed.

State Inmate ID
County Inmate ID
Federal Inmate ID

FOREIGN IDs

South Dakota requires evidence of identity satisfactory to the notary; no specific documents are prescribed.

Foreign Passport
Consular/Matricula ID
Foreign Driver's License

CREDIBLE WITNESS(ES)

South Dakota's credible-witness mechanism is statutory under SDCL ch. 18-4: § 18-4-10 permits the officer to rely on satisfactory evidence on the oath or affirmation of a credible witness, and the certificate forms (§ 18-4-12 general, 18-4-13 corporate, 18-4-14 attorney in fact, 18-4-15 deputy sheriff) provide 'or proved to me on the oath of [witness]'. The statute requires the witness to give an oath or affirmation and to be named; it does not itself require the witness be personally known to the notary. Per SD SoS Notary Public Handbook guidance, a relied-upon credible witness must be personally known to the notary (no ID-alternative), and MyNotaryBook follows that known-witness-only standard.

One Credible Witness
Personally known to the notary

PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE

Personally Known*

*Personal knowledge permitted (the officer shall know the person or have satisfactory evidence).

OTHER IDs

South Dakota requires evidence of identity satisfactory to the notary; no specific documents are prescribed.

Tribal ID*
Student/School ID (K-12)**

*Does not have to be federally or state recognized; must be a photo ID.

**Must be a photo ID.

Last verified: July 2026

Journal Rules

No traditional journal statute

NO TRADITIONAL JOURNAL MANDATE.

Journal required?
✗
Bound paper journal required?
✗
Wet signature required in journal?
✗
Wet thumbprint required?
✗
Digital journal allowed?
✓
Journal format
Optional
Last verified: July 2026

Notary Fees

SDCL § 18-1-9

SDCL § 18-1-9 (Fee chargeable by notary--No fee for absentee ballot): 'A notary public may charge and receive a fee for each instrument notarized, except that no notary public may charge a fee for notarizing a request for an absentee ballot.' Source: SDC 1939; SL 1979, ch 153, § 4; SL 1997, ch 120, § 3; SL 2004, ch 143, § 1; SL 2025, ch 91, § 1.

Acknowledgment (max)
—
Jurat (max)
—
Additional signature (max)
—
Travel fee capped?
✗
Travel fee disclosure required?
✓
Last verified: July 2026

Notarial Acts

Acknowledgment
Jurat
Oath / affirmation
Certified copy
Signature witnessing
Protest
Last verified: July 2026

Certificate Language

SDCL 18-4-12
Acknowledgment · Individual · safe-harbor wording
On {date}, before me personally appeared {signer_name}, to me known to be the person who executed the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged that he/she/they executed the same of his/her/their own free act and deed.
Acknowledgment · Representative · safe-harbor wording
On {date}, before me personally appeared {signer_name}, to me known to be the person who executed the foregoing instrument as {representative_title} of {represented_party}, and acknowledged that he/she/they executed the same as the free act and deed of {represented_party}.
Jurat · Individual · safe-harbor wording
Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on {date} by {signer_name}.
Signature Witnessing · Individual · safe-harbor wording
Signed before me on {date} by {signer_name}.

Bracketed {tokens} are placeholders the app fills in (venue, names, dates) when it generates a certificate.

Last verified: July 2026

Source Documents

Full statute and (where published) the commissioning authority’s notary handbook. Download links appear here once the documents table is populated.

📄 Full notary statute (coming soon) 📄 Notary handbook (coming soon)