How to Become a Notary in South Dakota (2026): Requirements, Cost & Steps

Requirements verified July 18, 2026 against South Dakota Secretary of State

South Dakota notaries apply by mail to the Secretary of State with a $30 fee, a seal imprint on the application, and a signed oath. There is no exam, no training requirement, and — since July 1, 2025 — no surety bond. The commission lasts six years.

South Dakota runs one of the simplest notary processes in the country, and it got simpler in 2025. You buy a seal, stamp its imprint on the one-page Notary Public Application & Oath, sign the oath, and mail it to the Secretary of State in Pierre with $30. No exam, no class, and — since July 1, 2025 — no surety bond, because HB 1133 scrapped the old $5,000 bond for all new and renewing notaries. The order matters here: the seal comes before the application, since the state will not process a form without your seal imprint in the box.

Once your Notary Public Commission certificate arrives, you can notarize anywhere in the state for six years. Plan on under $100 all-in: the $30 fee, the seal, and maybe a separate expiration-date stamp — South Dakota is picky that the expiration date go outside the seal border, not inside it. Eligibility is broad but has one hard line: a felony conviction is an absolute bar, and you answer that question under oath on the application.

Two 2025 changes make the economics unusually notary-friendly. The bond is gone, and HB 1192 also erased the old $10 cap on notarization fees, so South Dakota notaries now set their own per-act price (absentee-ballot requests stay free by law). Remote online notarization has been fully legal for electronic records since July 1, 2024 — you just register as an e-notary and pick your own tamper-evident platform, since the state keeps no approved-vendor list.

Who can become a notary in South Dakota?

• Age: at least 18 years old.
• Residency: You must be a South Dakota resident (residence as defined in SDCL 12-1-4). You can also qualify if you live in an out-of-state county that borders South Dakota and your place of work or business is inside South Dakota — the application asks for your employer's South Dakota address in that case.
• Background: South Dakota has a hard felony bar: SDCL 18-1-1 says the Secretary of State may not appoint anyone who has been convicted of a felony. The application asks this directly, and leaving the question blank or answering it incorrectly gets the application rejected.
• You must swear in the application oath that you are of legal age (18 in South Dakota).
• Your application must use a physical residential address — a PO box or business address alone is not accepted.
• You must apply under the exact name that appears on your notary seal.

How to apply: step by step

1. Buy your notary seal first — the application cannot be processed without a seal imprint. Any office supply store or print shop works; South Dakota does not sell seals. It can be a rubber stamp or embosser, round, square, or rectangular.
2. Complete the Notary Public Application & Oath form from the Secretary of State's website and stamp a legible seal imprint in the box at the top.
3. Answer the required questions: prior South Dakota commissions, date of birth, and whether you have ever been convicted of a felony. If you want to offer electronic notarizations, check the e-notary box, attach an image of your electronic seal, and list your tamper-evident notarization vendor(s).
4. If you live in a bordering out-of-state county, fill in your employer or business name and its South Dakota address.
5. Complete, date, and sign the oath section using your name exactly as it appears on your seal.
6. Mail the original application (photocopies are rejected) with the $30 filing fee to the Secretary of State, 500 E Capitol Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501. Credit card payment is possible by phone.
7. Wait for your Notary Public Commission certificate. You are not authorized to notarize anything until you receive it.

How long it takes: The Secretary of State does not publish a processing time. Applications go by mail to Pierre, and the commission takes effect the day the office issues it. Incomplete forms — a missing seal imprint or an unanswered felony question — are rejected, which is the most common delay.

What it costs in South Dakota

Exam and training

South Dakota does not require an exam or a mandatory course. No required course. Optional training exists from private providers, and the state's own handbook (updated July 2025) covers everything South Dakota expects of a notary.

Can you notarize online in South Dakota? RON allowed

Yes — South Dakota authorizes remote online notarization (RON). SB 211 (2024) added full remote online notarization for electronic records at SDCL 18-1-11.2, effective July 1, 2024. Separately, since 2019, SDCL 18-1-11.1 allows a mail-and-video method for paper documents, but only for signers the notary personally knows. Either way the notary must be physically inside South Dakota; the signer can be anywhere.

To add RON to your commission: To notarize electronic records remotely you must register as an e-notary: check the e-notary box on the application (or file a Notary Change Request Form if already commissioned), attach an image of your electronic seal, and list each tamper-evident electronic notarization system you will use. You pick your own vendor — the state has no approved-provider list. You must verify the signer through two different methods of identity proofing, record the session, and keep the audio-visual recording for ten years (SDCL 18-1-11.3). No separate state RON fee is listed; confirm current requirements with the Secretary of State.

Full guide: how to become a remote online notary.

After you're commissioned

Get your stamp and journal. Required — an impression of the seal must be filed with your application before you are commissioned. Rubber ink stamp or embosser both work, in a circle, square, or rectangle; no size or color rules. It must show your name exactly as commissioned, the words 'Notary Public' and 'South Dakota', and a border fully surrounding the imprint. Rubber-stamp and electronic seals must also contain the word 'seal' inside the border. The commission expiration date may NOT appear inside the border — SDCL 18-1-3.1 requires you to write, stamp, or print it below or outside the seal instead. See the new-notary supplies checklist and South Dakota stamp requirements before you order.

What you can charge: HB 1192 (2025) removed the old $10-per-instrument cap effective July 1, 2025. SDCL 18-1-9 now lets a notary charge and receive a fee for each instrument notarized with no stated maximum — except that notarizing an absentee ballot request must always be free.

E&O insurance: Not required. With no bond in South Dakota, optional errors-and-omissions insurance is the only financial backstop if a mistake in a notarization leads to a claim against you.

Earning more with your commission

Most new notaries who turn the commission into real income do it through loan signings — notarizing mortgage document packages for title companies. If that interests you, start with what a loan signing agent actually does and earns. Loan signing agent guide

South Dakota notary FAQ