South Dakota Criminal Records

Choose the product your question requires

South Dakota’s PARS is a public court-information summary, while the Division of Criminal Investigation performs fingerprint-based repository checks. Use PARS to locate a criminal case and its court; use DCI when you need your own state history or an authorized employment/licensing fingerprint check. A court summary, repository response and certified judgment have different purposes.

For a required job or license check, ask the receiving agency which program to use before paying. DCI’s state-and-FBI process requires legal authorization and agency-specific materials; a public name search is not a replacement simply because it is faster. A booking record or current custody inquiry is also separate from a criminal-case outcome.

Submit a careful PARS guest search

PARS charges $20 for every submitted search, including a search returning no records. Its guest form requires last name and birth date, offers a last-name alias field, and lets you choose criminal cases, protection orders or both. It does not permit searches for minors. Check the date and spelling before submission because the charge applies to the search itself.

The guest form sends the report to the email address you provide and asks you to enter that address twice. Review it for mistakes, retain the receipt and save the report. Protection-order results are a separate category, so select the criminal category if that is all you need. Match the court and case details before associating a returned case with a person.

Take older or underlying records to the court

PARS criminal coverage runs from 1989 to the present, excluding sealed cases. For a case before 1989, request records directly from the clerk in the filing county; UJS Court Finder locates those offices. Open records referenced by a PARS summary can be viewed or printed at public-access terminals in South Dakota courthouses.

For a certified outcome, give the filing clerk the case number and exact judgment or disposition wanted, number of copies and certification requirement. Ask for that court’s copying, certification and delivery costs instead of assuming the $20 search buys those documents. UJS also offers a no-fee request form for a named party, legal representative or qualified agency; that eligibility does not make every public guest search free.

Assemble a state-only DCI packet

Obtain the DCI state applicant card and instructions free through its Fingerprint Card Order Form or call 605-773-3331 for the Identification Section. Take the card to local police or a sheriff’s office for a fully rolled set of prints; that agency may charge separately. The required identifying fields include name, birth date, gender and Social Security number. Incomplete packets are returned.

Complete and sign the authorization/release on the card or separate form, including the address for results. Enclose a $30 check or money order with the card and authorization. DCI says not to send cash or fold the card. Follow the mailing instructions supplied with the kit. The FAQ’s published processing estimate is five business days plus mail time, not same-day delivery.

DCI sends history found or a letter saying none was found to the specified return address, and destroys the submitted cards rather than returning them. The state-only result excludes federal and out-of-state information, sealed records, minor traffic violations and juvenile offenses unless charged as an adult. Keep this scope with the response when supplying it for an approved purpose.

For state-and-FBI checks, obtain the correct cards

The combined program described in DCI’s mail instructions requires a special FBI applicant card and a state applicant card from the requesting agency. The FBI card carries the agency’s assigned ORI and the appropriate employment reason. The posted combined fee is $50 by check or money order, separate from any local fingerprint-taking charge. Use the requesting agency’s process rather than adapting a personal state-only packet.

If you work with a South Dakota school district, DCI’s FAQ specifically tells you to contact the district because additional requirements apply. Preserve the agency instructions and your request reference so any follow-up uses the correct program, receiving organization and identity information. Do not assume that a report prepared for one purpose is automatically suitable for another.

Resolve mismatches without overstating a no-hit

If a court summary appears to show the wrong person or an incorrect result, compare the case number and ask the filing clerk about the underlying record. For a DCI history discrepancy, contact its Identification Section at 605-773-3331 with the response and the disputed event; ask how to submit supporting court information for review. A routine lookup does not itself amend or seal a record.

Read the disposition of each charge, not only the original allegation. An unreported event, protected record, older case or inaccurate search identifier can explain a gap. Preserve the search date and product name, and describe a negative result only within its coverage. A PARS summary and a state-only fingerprint check cannot jointly be treated as a guaranteed nationwide criminal clearance.