United States

Apostille in South Dakota

Verified as of August 9, 2026

Everything below is transcribed from this office's own published sources and printed in its words. A value we could not confirm against an official page carries an unverified marker — but the absence of that marker is not a guarantee that a fact was checked, and the source's own doubts stay inside the notes reproduced here verbatim. Confirm fees, addresses and deadlines with the office before you send documents or money.

Who issues the apostille

Competent authority: South Dakota Secretary of State

Which documents this office will accept

Copies: Birth/marriage/death certificates, divorce decrees and court documents "CANNOT be certified by a notary public as 'true copies'"
From the source: Documents must be properly certified and/or notarized

By document type

Document type	What this office requires
vital records (birth, marriage, death certificates, divorce decrees)	require certification by the county Register of Deeds or the SD Department of Health

Certifications you may need first

No additional certification step is required before the apostille.

The request form

Form: A PDF request form.
Where to get it: https://sdsos.gov/docs/ApostilleAuthenticationRequestForm.pdf

Requesting online

Online route: There is no online request route — this office takes requests on paper.

Where to go in person

Pierre

500 East Capitol Avenue, Suite 112 (First Floor, Capitol Building), Pierre, SD 57501

Access: Visits are by appointment.
Hours: Not published for this office.
From the source: Walk-in service not permitted; appointment required for expedited/while-you-wait service (limited daily slots; (605) 773-5008); drop-off accepted Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–4 p.m. without appointment

What it costs

Fee

$25.00 USD per document

$25.00 per document

Faster service

In person

$50.00 USD

The source does not state how this fee is counted.

Turnaround: Expedited appointment: processed while you wait when possible (may require a return visit)

Expedited service $25.00 per document + $50 expedite fee

How to pay

By mail

Check or money order.

In person

Cash.

Make it payable to

Secretary of State

Copy that exactly as written.

From the source

Payment must be drawn on a U.S. bank.

Check or money order payable to "Secretary of State," cash, major credit cards (channels not itemized in source; cash placed in person); "All checks and/or credit cards MUST be written on a US bank"

Where to send your documents

Mailing address: South Dakota Secretary of State, Attn: Apostille Office, 500 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501

How long it takes

By mail: Mail: "within 2 business days from the date we receive it"
In person: Drop-off/pick-up: "Most orders are completed within 1-2 business days"
Expedited: Expedited appointment: processed while you wait when possible (may require a return visit)

Checking status and verifying an apostille

Verify an issued apostille: No public verification register is published for this office. That is not the same as an apostille being unverifiable — ask the office how it confirms one.
Check a request's status: No status-tracking page is published for this office.

Remote online notarization

Status: Remote online notarization is permitted here.
Legal basis: Two tracks: (1) remote notarization of tangible (paper) records via video communication technology, SDCL 18-1-11.1 (SL 2019, ch 100, § 2, effective July 1, 2019; amended SL 2021, ch 89); (2) remote online notarization of electronic records, SDCL 18-1-11.2 (SL 2024, ch 71, § 4, effective July 1, 2024). Notary must be physically located in South Dakota for either
What the notary must register: No separate RON commission. Before notarizing electronic records, the notarial officer must select at least one tamper-evident electronic notarization system and "notify the secretary of state, on forms prescribed by the secretary, of the names of each tamper-evident notarization system used" (SDCL 18-1-11.4)
How the signer is identified: Tangible-record remote acts (18-1-11.1): personal knowledge only ("personal knowledge of the identity of a person through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty"). Electronic-record RON (18-1-11.2): identity verified "by means of two different methods of identity proofing"; "identity proofing" = third-party verification via review of personal information from public or proprietary data sources (SDCL 18-1-1.1) — statute does not name KBA/credential analysis/biometrics and provides no credible-witness option for remote acts
Fee caps: No maximum fee is recorded here for a remote act or for a standard notarial act. A missing cap is not the same as “no cap” — the reason is in the notes below.
From the source: Two-track regime: paper-record remote notarization is personal-knowledge-only; electronic-record RON (the second track, eff. July 1, 2024) uses two methods of identity proofing. Max RON fee: no statutory cap (no RON-specific fee provision; general fee statute has no dollar cap). Max standard fee: no statutory cap since July 1, 2025 — SDCL 18-1-9 now reads "A notary public may charge and receive a fee for each instrument notarized" (SL 2025, ch 91, § 1); the prior version capped it at "a fee not to exceed ten dollars for each instrument notarized" (through 2024). No fee for notarizing absentee-ballot requests. Audio-visual copy of the electronic-record RON act must be created (18-1-11.2) and retained (18-1-11.3; retention period not verified). NNA page's "$30 (SDCL 18-1-1)" figure is the notary application/commission fee, not a per-act cap. Certificate must state remote appearance and technology used (18-1-11.6)

Every United States jurisdiction in this handbook

Other countries: Canada — Federal — Global Affairs Canada · Mexico — Federal — Secretaría de Gobernación (SEGOB)

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