To become a South Dakota notary, buy your seal first, then send the Secretary of State an Application and Oath bearing a clear seal imprint, with the $30 fee; you must be of legal age, live in South Dakota or in a bordering county while working in the state, and have no felony conviction. There is no exam, and no bond has been required since July 1, 2025. Commissions last six years. Below are the steps, seal rules, renewal and remote notarization.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against the South Dakota Secretary of State notary pages and July 2025 Notary Public Handbook, SDCL chapter 18-1 and ARSD 05:04:03. Sources read September 2026.
South Dakota notary commission in brief
| Requirement | Short answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility | Legal age; residence in South Dakota, or residence in a bordering county with a place of work or business in South Dakota; no felony conviction | SDCL 18-1-1; Application and Oath form |
| Training or course | None required | SDCL ch. 18-1 (silent) |
| Exam | None required | SDCL ch. 18-1 (silent) |
| How to apply | Send the original Application and Oath, with your seal imprint and the fee, to the Secretary of State | Secretary of State application checklist |
| Application fee | $30 | SDCL 18-1-1 |
| Bond | Not required since July 1, 2025 | HB 1133 (2025); Secretary of State notary page |
| Oath | Part of the application; signed with your name exactly as it appears on the seal | SDCL 18-1-2, 18-1-3 |
| Commission term | Six years, ending at midnight on the expiration date | SDCL 18-1-1; Notary Public Handbook |
| Seal | Bought before you apply. Your name, South Dakota, notary public and a border; the word seal on rubber and electronic seals. South Dakota seal rules | SDCL 18-1-3.1 |
| Expiration date | Shown below the seal, never inside its border | SDCL 18-1-3.1; Notary Public Handbook |
| Journal | No journal requirement in the notary chapter; remote act recordings kept ten years | SDCL ch. 18-1; SDCL 18-1-11.2 |
| Renewal | Same form and $30 fee, filed no more than 60 days before expiration | Notary Public Handbook |
| Electronic or remote | Name your tamper-evident system vendor on the application or change form | SDCL 18-1-11.2; ARSD 05:04:03:01 |
For journal and remote notarization rules beyond South Dakota, compare the 54-jurisdiction journal table with the 54-jurisdiction remote notarization table.
Who can become a notary in South Dakota?
The Secretary of State appoints applicants who reside in South Dakota and who have never been convicted of a felony. Residents of a county that borders South Dakota qualify too, if their place of work or business is inside the state (SDCL 18-1-1).
The statute ties residence to the definition in SDCL 12-1-4, and the application asks for your physical residential address. A post office box, a business address or a mailing address alone is not accepted. Border county applicants also list their employer or business and its South Dakota address.
No age figure appears in the statute. The oath on the application has you swear that you are of legal age, and the form asks for your date of birth. The felony bar in SDCL 18-1-1 is written without exceptions, and a blank or wrong answer to the felony question gets the application rejected.
What are the steps to apply for a South Dakota notary commission?
South Dakota reverses the usual order. You buy the seal before you apply, because the application must carry its imprint, and the name on the form, the name on the seal and your signature must match exactly.
- Decide on your commission name. SDCL 18-1-1 has you apply in the same name that appears in the seal imprint, and you sign in that name.
- Order your seal. The checklist accepts a rubber stamp, an electronic seal or an embossing seal, shaped as a circle, square or rectangle.
- Fill in the Application and Oath. Make a legible imprint in the box, give your physical residence address, and answer the questions on prior South Dakota service, date of birth and felony convictions. With two seals, put both imprints on a separate sheet.
- Complete the oath. Enter the county where you sign it, print your name exactly as it reads on the seal, then date and sign.
- If you will notarize electronically, list the tamper-evident notarization vendor or vendors you will use.
- Send the original application with the $30 fee, by check payable to the Secretary of State, to the address printed on the form.
New applicants and renewing notaries use the same form, so these steps come around again every six years. The Secretary of State's how to become a notary page walks through the same checklist.
How much will a South Dakota commission cost you?
The state charges $30 to file the application under SDCL 18-1-1. With the bond requirement gone since July 1, 2025, the only other required purchase is your official seal, which the state does not supply.
There is no exam fee and no course fee, because South Dakota requires neither. Renewal costs the same $30 every six years. Once commissioned, SDCL 18-1-9 lets you charge a fee for each instrument you notarize, except that no fee may be charged for an absentee ballot request.
Is there a required course or exam for South Dakota notaries?
No. Neither SDCL chapter 18-1 nor the Secretary of State's Notary Public Handbook sets a training course or an exam for new or renewing notaries. What you learn before your first notarization is up to you.
The South Dakota Notary Public Handbook, dated July 2025, is the office's own plain language guide. It covers the seal, the change form, renewal timing and remote notarization, and it reflects the 2025 bond change.
Do South Dakota notaries still need a bond?
No. House Bill 1133, effective July 1, 2025, removed the $5,000 notary bond requirement for new and renewing notaries. The application no longer includes a surety bond or Personal Surety Form, and a bond you buy voluntarily stays with you rather than being filed.
The Secretary of State's announcement of the change says notaries commissioned before July 1, 2025 are unaffected until they renew, and they renew without a bond. Guides written before July 2025 may still describe the bond, so check the date on anything you read.
What seal do you need, and when do you order it?
Order your seal before you apply. SDCL 18-1-3 requires you to obtain an official seal and file its impression with your oath, and the seal must carry your name, a border around the design, and the words notary public and South Dakota.
A rubber stamp or electronic seal must also include the word seal inside the border (SDCL 18-1-3.1). An embossing seal can stand on its own, since the handbook treats the raised seal and the rubber stamp as equally acceptable. South Dakota sets no size and no ink color.
Keep the expiration date off the face. SDCL 18-1-3.1 has you show your commission expiration date below the seal, and the handbook allows the date and the words My Commission Expires outside the border but never inside it. The South Dakota notary seal guide sets out the full face rules.
Does South Dakota require a notary journal?
No. SDCL chapter 18-1 contains no journal requirement for in-person notarizations, and the Notary Public Handbook does not address one. Remote notarizations differ: you must keep an audio and video copy of each act for ten years.
The ten year rule in SDCL 18-1-11.2 applies to notarial acts that use a tamper-evident notarization system. For paper notarizations, any record you keep is voluntary and the law sets no format. If you choose to keep one, logging the date, the signer, the document type and how you identified the signer gives you something to consult if a notarization is questioned later.
How long does a South Dakota commission last, and how do you renew?
A commission lasts exactly six years from its commission date and expires at midnight on the expiration date. To renew, file a new Application and Oath with the $30 fee no more than 60 days before that date.
The office cannot back date an application, so the new commission will not reach back to cover days after the old one ended. The renewal form carries a seal imprint again. Neither the statute nor the handbook requires a new seal at renewal; the expiration date goes below the seal, not on its face. Our notary seal expiration guide covers how commission dates work.
How do you report a new name, a move or a lost seal?
File the Notary Change Request Form with the Secretary of State. Changes to your name, address or seal must be filed and approved before you notarize with the new information, and a new name or seal needs the office's confirmation first.
In practice that means ordering the new seal, filing the change with its imprint, and waiting for approval before using either. ARSD 05:04:03:04 holds the imprint on the change form to the same standards as the original application.
If a seal is lost or stolen, report it to the Secretary of State immediately so the office can note your record. You then either file a new seal's imprint on the change form or ask the office to cancel your commission and apply again.
Can South Dakota notaries notarize remotely?
Yes. South Dakota allows video notarization of a paper document for a signer you personally know, and remote online notarization of an electronic record through a tamper-evident system. For electronic records, you must be located in South Dakota while you act.
Under SDCL 18-1-11.1, the video route requires personal knowledge of the signer's identity, your signature on the original paper document and a note of the remote location in the certificate. SDCL 18-1-11.2 requires two different methods of identity proofing, a tamper-evident electronic notarization system and the ten year recording. To register, list your system vendor or vendors on the application or on the Notary Change Request Form.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get a South Dakota notary commission?
The Secretary of State's notary pages and handbook do not publish a processing time. The office's Notary Commissions portal carries current processing information. An application with a missing or wrong answer is rejected, which adds a second round trip.
Can I be a South Dakota notary if I live in Minnesota, Iowa or another neighboring state?
Only if you live in a county that borders South Dakota and your place of work or business is in South Dakota. The application asks for that employer or business and its South Dakota address.
Can I notarize in any South Dakota county?
Yes. SDCL 18-1-1 lets each notary administer oaths and perform notarial duties anywhere in the state, not just in the county on the application.
I had a bond before July 2025. Do I renew it?
Not for your commission. Renewing notaries no longer file a bond. You may keep a voluntary bond, but the Secretary of State says to hold it yourself rather than send it in.
Can I register two seals?
Yes. The checklist asks for both imprints on a separate sheet when you have two seals, so an ink stamp and an embosser can both be on file with the office.
Does the state send me a seal with my commission?
No. The handbook states that South Dakota does not provide the official seal. You buy it from a vendor before you apply, since the application needs its imprint.
Does a South Dakota seal need a commission number?
No. SDCL 18-1-3.1 lists your name, the words South Dakota and notary public, and a border as the minimum contents. A commission number is not among them.
Since your seal comes before your application, start with our South Dakota stamps and seals collection, and confirm the face against the South Dakota notary seal requirements. Rules for every other state are gathered on our notary seal requirements by state page.
