South Dakota background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

South Dakota employers may run background checks, and the state adds nothing to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act's paperwork for private employers. As of October 2026, what matters most is that state criminal history files are closed: the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) releases a record only with the person's fingerprints and signed release, so employers rely on screening companies and the court system's $20 public record search. Arrest expungement, suspended imposition of sentence and a five-year automatic removal for minor offenses take many records out of public view, and accredited schools and child welfare agencies must run fingerprint checks. There is no ban-the-box, credit check or salary history law.

The federal steps (stand-alone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse and adverse action notices) apply to every South Dakota hire that uses a screening company and are covered in the FCRA background check process. This page covers what South Dakota law adds, with each statute linked to the Legislature's codified laws. The wider state picture is on hiring employees in South Dakota.

Does South Dakota add anything to the federal FCRA?

No. We found no South Dakota statute that adds disclosure, consent or copy requirements for consumer reports; the state's credit report chapter, SDCL 54-15, deals with security freezes. What South Dakota regulates is access to the state's own files. Under SDCL 23-5-11, criminal history information compiled by the Attorney General is "specifically exempt from disclosure" under the open records law and "may be withheld by the lawful custodian." The only route for an employer is the candidate: under SDCL 23-5-12, "any person may examine criminal history information filed with the attorney general that refers to that person," with a written request and fingerprints, and "may also authorize the attorney general to release his criminal history information to other individuals or organizations."

How far back can a South Dakota background check go?

South Dakota sets no lookback limit of its own, so the FCRA governs screening companies: arrests and other non-conviction items older than seven years may not be reported for jobs paying under $75,000 a year, and convictions have no time limit (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). In practice, South Dakota's removal and sealing rules, below, shorten what a court search shows.

How do you get a South Dakota criminal record?

• From the DCI, with the candidate. The Attorney General's background check FAQs say the person calls the DCI's Identification Section for a free fingerprint kit, state law requires a fingerprint-based search and "an authorization of release waiver be signed by the applicant," and the state fee is $30. Results go to the person named on the signed authorization, which can be the employer, and take about five business days plus mail time. The DCI does not keep juvenile records, except for people transferred to adult court, and it withholds sealed records except certain sex crimes for jobs such as teaching or law enforcement.
• From the courts, without the candidate. The Unified Judicial System's Public Access Record Search gives "a summary of public court information in criminal cases" for $20 per search, charged "regardless of whether the search returns any records." It covers criminal cases from 1989 to the present unless sealed; for earlier cases you ask the clerk of courts in the county where the case was filed.

A screening company searching South Dakota court records sees the same public records, so sealed, expunged and automatically removed cases should not appear.

What happens to expunged and sealed records in South Dakota?

Four rules take records out of public view, and two of them say expressly that the candidate need not mention the case when asked.

• Arrest expungement. A person may ask the court to expunge an arrest record one year after an arrest with no charge filed, one year after the prosecutor dismisses the entire case, or at any time after an acquittal (SDCL 23A-3-27). The court seals all official records except a nonpublic record the DCI keeps for law enforcement, prosecutors and courts (23A-3-31). The person is restored to their status before the arrest and cannot be found guilty "of perjury or of giving a false statement" for not acknowledging the arrest, indictment or trial "in response to any inquiry made of the person for any purpose" (23A-3-32).
• Diversion. A person who completes a diversion program and stays free of new charges, other than petty offenses or minor traffic citations, for a year and thirty days gets the entire record of that arrest expunged without filing a motion (23A-3-35 to 23A-3-37).
• Suspended imposition of sentence. When a person completes a suspended imposition of sentence and is discharged, the court seals the records of the arrest, charge, finding of guilt and dismissal, with the same rule that the person need not acknowledge them "in response to any inquiry made of him for any purpose" (SDCL 23A-27-17).
• Automatic removal of minor cases. Any charge or conviction in a case where the highest charge was a petty offense, municipal ordinance violation or Class 2 misdemeanor "shall be automatically removed from a defendant's public record after five years" if the court's conditions were met and there was no new conviction in those five years. Court personnel can still see it (SDCL 23A-3-34).

When can South Dakota employers ask about criminal history?

At any stage, under state law. South Dakota has no ban-the-box law for private employers, and the Human Relations Act's protected traits in SDCL 20-13-10 do not include a record. We did not find a Sioux Falls or Rapid City ordinance that limits private employers' questions. Phrase the question so that it excludes expunged arrests and sealed suspended sentences, since a candidate may lawfully leave them out.

Federal Title VII still applies. On October 28, 2026, the EEOC voted to rescind its 2012 enforcement guidance on arrest and conviction records, effective immediately; its announcement says Title VII "continues to prohibit discrimination based on race or national origin, including employment requirements that are proxies for intentional discrimination." Title VII's disparate impact provision, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k), is unchanged, and a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case Green v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it, and the nature of the job) remains a sound way to make and document a decision. Questions to avoid in interviews are in illegal interview questions.

Which South Dakota jobs require background checks?

• Accredited schools. "Each person over eighteen years of age hired by an accredited school shall submit to a criminal background investigation, by means of fingerprint checks by the Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation." The school sends the fingerprint cards before the new employee starts, the person may work on a temporary basis pending results, and the school may withdraw the offer or end the temporary job without liability if the report shows a disqualifying record. Technical college instructors and student teachers are covered; people hired only to referee or judge school events are not (SDCL 13-10-12).
• Child welfare agencies. After a license is issued, adults who administer or supervise staff, adults living in the facility, any adult (including volunteers) who cares for or supervises the children, and adults working in group homes, residential treatment centers or shelters must sign the 23-5-12 release, be fingerprinted and sign a declaration under penalty of perjury about prior convictions. The licensee sends the prints to the DCI and FBI within 14 calendar days and must act immediately to remove anyone convicted of a crime listed in the department's rules (SDCL 26-6-14.4 and 26-6-14.5). The Department of Social Services also runs central registry checks on all known employees of child welfare agencies (26-6-23.2).
• Name checks for schools and agencies. School superintendents and owners or operators of child welfare agencies may also submit the name of someone being considered for employment to the DCI, which reports any criminal convictions (SDCL 23-5-12.1).

Can South Dakota employers check credit, salary history or genetic information?

• Credit. We found no South Dakota statute limiting employment credit checks; the FCRA steps apply. States that restrict them are compared in credit check laws for employers.
• Salary history. South Dakota has no salary history ban; see salary history ban states for candidates elsewhere.
• Genetic information. SDCL 60-2-20 makes it an unlawful employment practice to seek to obtain, obtain or use a prospective employee's genetic information, with narrow law enforcement exceptions, so keep it out of any screening package.

South Dakota background check rules at a glance

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in South Dakota?

1. Choose the right source. For most jobs, a screening company or the $20 court search covers South Dakota cases; ask for a DCI check, with the candidate's fingerprints and waiver, when a client needs the state repository.
2. Fix the application question. Ask about convictions and exclude expunged arrests, sealed suspended impositions of sentence and diverted cases, which candidates may lawfully leave out.
3. Plan school placements around 13-10-12. If you place staff in an accredited school, the school must send fingerprints before the person starts; agree with the client who pays and when the person may begin on a temporary basis.
4. Keep genetic and medical questions out of screening forms, and keep criminal history out of interview notes. If you record interviews, check South Dakota's recording consent rules.
5. Document your reasons. A background check policy that ties each check to the job helps against both discrimination and negligent hiring claims. Agency licensing is covered in staffing agency licensing in South Dakota, work authorization in South Dakota E-Verify requirements, and candidates in a neighboring state in Minnesota background check laws.