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South Dakota Surety Bonds

South Dakota Surety Bonds-- A Low-Bond State, Now Even Lower

South Dakota requires fewer surety bonds than almost any state, and 2025 removed one more. The bonds you are most likely to need are the $25,000 motor vehicle dealer bond (SDCL 32-6B-7, filed with the Department of Revenue), the $10,000 electrical contractor bond (SDCL 36-16), the federal $75,000 freight broker BMC-84, and court-set probate bonds. The surety carriers behind these bonds are regulated by the South Dakota Division of Insurance within the Department of Labor and Regulation. Most license bonds cost roughly 1 to 3 percent of the bond amount per year for applicants with solid credit, and approval is often same-day.

2025 change: South Dakota eliminated the notary surety bond effective July 1, 2025 (HB 1133, SDCL 18-1-2). New and renewing notaries no longer post the old $5,000 bond -- see the notary page for what replaced it.

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Dealer, electrical, freight broker, probate, title -- every type

What changed on July 1, 2025

The notary bond South Dakota used to require is gone

For years, every South Dakota notary posted a $5,000 surety bond as a condition of commission. House Bill 1133 changed that. As of July 1, 2025, SDCL 18-1-2 no longer contains any bond language -- a new or renewing notary simply takes the oath of office under SDCL 3-1-5 and pays the Secretary of State fee. Nothing has to be posted.

If you were commissioned before the change and already carry a bond, you are unaffected until your commission expires. Many notaries are replacing the old bond with errors-and-omissions coverage, which protects the notary personally rather than the public. Our South Dakota notary page walks through the difference and what still makes sense to carry.

Official South Dakota Requirements

"A motor vehicle dealer license applicant must file a surety bond -- twenty-five thousand dollars for a full motor vehicle dealer, with lower amounts for boat, trailer, and cycle dealers -- kept in force each license period, conditioned on compliance with the licensing chapter."
South Dakota Department of Revenue -- Motor Vehicle Division • SDCL 32-6B-7
$25K
Auto Dealer Bond
$5K-$25K
Dealer Bond by Type
No State
GC License
$0
Notary Bond (2025)

The Bonds South Dakota Actually Requires

South Dakota's requirements are scattered across a handful of agencies rather than one licensing board. Here are the bonds you are most likely to need, each with the agency that sets it and a link to the full South Dakota guide.

Auto Dealer Bond

Department of Revenue

$25,000 for a full motor vehicle dealer under SDCL 32-6B-7 (lower tiers apply to boat, trailer, and cycle dealers). Covers new, used, and wholesale dealers; kept in force each license period by continuation certificate.

South Dakota dealer bond ($25K)

Contractor Bonds

State Electrical Commission + cities

No statewide GC license. Electrical contractors post $10,000 (SDCL 36-16). Sioux Falls adds city bonds: $10K general, $20K residential.

South Dakota contractor bonds

Freight Broker Bond

FMCSA (federal)

$75,000 BMC-84 under 49 U.S.C. § 13906. A federal requirement -- it follows your broker authority, so it applies even to South Dakota mail-forwarding domiciles.

South Dakota BMC-84 ($75K)

Probate Bonds

Circuit courts

Discretionary under SDCL 29A-3-603 -- not required unless a judge decides it protects the estate. When ordered, the court sets the amount from a sworn value estimate (SDCL 29A-3-604). No fixed multiplier.

South Dakota probate bonds

Bonded (Title) Bond

Motor Vehicle Division / county treasurer

Unusually narrow. SDCL 32-3-64.1 allows a bonded title only for vehicles 30+ years old with no ownership record and no bill of sale, at a bond amount the Motor Vehicle Division sets from its own valuation.

South Dakota bonded title

Notary Bond

Secretary of State

No longer required as of July 1, 2025 (HB 1133). The old $5,000 bond is gone; notaries take the oath under SDCL 3-1-5. E&O coverage is now the optional alternative.

What SD notaries need now

The Two Bonds Most South Dakota Businesses Buy

If you are opening a lot or running a trade business, one of these two is almost certainly the bond you came here for. They behave differently, and the differences matter for what you pay and how you renew.

The Dealer Bond, Tier by Tier

South Dakota's dealer bond (SDCL 32-6B-7) is filed with the Department of Revenue, and the amount tracks your dealer type: a full motor vehicle dealer posts $25,000, while boat dealers are set lower (around $20,000), trailer dealers lower still (around $10,000), and motorcycle or snowmobile dealers lowest (around $5,000). The bond is kept in force across the license period -- a new bond or continuation certificate is delivered to the Department at the start of each period -- so you renew the coverage rather than re-shopping it from scratch each year.

It covers new, used, and wholesale dealers and protects buyers against title-transfer failures and other statutory violations. See the full South Dakota auto dealer bond guide for filing steps and what the Department of Revenue expects.

The State-vs-City Contractor Split

Because South Dakota licenses no general contractors at the state level, your bond depends on your trade and your city. Electrical contractors are bonded through the State Electrical Commission at $10,000 (SDCL 36-16); plumbers go through the State Plumbing Commission. General building contractors are handled municipally -- Sioux Falls requires a $10,000 general contractor bond and a $20,000 bond for residential building contractors, plus a separate right-of-way bond for work in the public ROW.

Layered on top is the South Dakota contractors excise tax collected by the Department of Revenue; out-of-state contractors are sometimes asked to post a tax bond or deposit tied to their expected liability. The contractor bond page breaks down each trade and city.

What You'll Actually Pay

License bond premiums are a percentage of the bond amount, and credit is the biggest lever. The bars below show a realistic range for the $25,000 auto dealer bond -- South Dakota's most-purchased bond -- across credit tiers. Smaller bonds like the $10,000 electrical contractor bond scale down proportionally. For the full method, see our surety bond cost guide.

Not a dealer? A $10,000 electrical contractor bond typically runs $100-$300 a year at the same credit tiers. Court-set probate bonds and the federal $75,000 freight broker BMC-84 price on their own schedules. Get a quote for your exact bond.

What South Dakota Does Not Bond

Knowing what you don't need is worth as much as knowing what you do. These are the bonds people expect South Dakota to require -- and it doesn't.

Notary bond

Repealed July 1, 2025 (HB 1133). The old $5,000 bond no longer exists; only the oath of office remains under SDCL 3-1-5.

Statewide GC license bond

There is no statewide general contractor license, so no statewide contractor bond. Requirements are trade-specific (electrical, plumbing) or municipal.

Bonded title for most cars

SDCL 32-3-64.1 limits bonded titles to 30+ year vehicles with no record and no bill of sale. Newer untitled vehicles are resolved another way.

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South Dakota Surety Bond Questions

The dealer bond, the contractor split, the 2025 notary repeal, and more

Do South Dakota notaries still need a surety bond?
No. South Dakota eliminated the notary surety bond effective July 1, 2025 through HB 1133, which stripped the bond language out of SDCL 18-1-2. New and renewing notaries now only take the oath of office under SDCL 3-1-5 and pay the Secretary of State commission fee. The old requirement was a $5,000 bond. Notaries commissioned before July 1, 2025 who already posted a bond are not required to do anything -- their existing commission runs to its expiration. South Dakota is now one of a small number of states that require no notary bond at all. Many notaries still choose to carry errors-and-omissions coverage, which protects the notary personally rather than the public.
How much is the South Dakota auto dealer bond, and how does it renew?
The bond amount depends on the type of dealer license you hold. A full motor vehicle dealer posts a $25,000 bond under SDCL 32-6B-7, while other dealer categories are set lower -- roughly $20,000 for boat dealers, $10,000 for trailer dealers, and $5,000 for motorcycle or snowmobile dealers. The bond is filed with the South Dakota Department of Revenue, which licenses motor vehicle dealers. It is kept in force across the license period, with a new bond or continuation certificate delivered to the Department at the start of each period, and you pay premium annually to keep the coverage active. If your dealer type is not the standard car dealership, confirm your exact amount on the dealer bond page or ask us for a quote.
Does South Dakota require a statewide general contractor license or bond?
No. South Dakota has no statewide general contractor license, so there is no single state contractor bond. Bonding is trade-specific and municipal instead. Electrical contractors are licensed by the South Dakota State Electrical Commission under SDCL 36-16 and must post a $10,000 bond. Plumbers are licensed through the State Plumbing Commission. General building contractors are bonded at the city level -- Sioux Falls, for example, requires a $10,000 general contractor bond and a $20,000 bond for residential building contractors. Separately, contractors owe the South Dakota contractors excise tax administered by the Department of Revenue, and out-of-state contractors can be asked to post a tax bond or deposit.
How much does a South Dakota surety bond cost?
Most South Dakota license bonds are priced as a small percentage of the bond amount -- typically 1 to 3 percent per year for applicants with solid credit. A $25,000 auto dealer bond commonly runs about $250 to $750 annually, and a $10,000 electrical contractor bond often falls in the $100 to $300 range. Applicants with weaker credit pay a higher rate because the surety is taking on more risk. Court-set bonds such as probate bonds and federal bonds such as the freight broker BMC-84 are priced on their own schedules. Use our South Dakota quote form or the surety bond cost guide to see where your specific bond and credit profile land.
When can I get a bonded title in South Dakota?
South Dakota bonded titles are narrow. Under SDCL 32-3-64.1 the Motor Vehicle Division will only issue a bonded title when the vehicle is at least 30 years old, no ownership record exists anywhere in the system, and there is no bill of sale. The Motor Vehicle Division values the vehicle and sets the required bond amount from that valuation. This is far more restrictive than states like Iowa, Wisconsin, or Texas, which bond almost any untitled vehicle regardless of age. If your vehicle is newer or you have a bill of sale, a bonded title generally will not apply, and the Division will point you toward a duplicate title, a transfer from the last owner of record, or a court order instead.
Is a probate bond always required in South Dakota?
No. Under SDCL 29A-3-603, as amended by HB 1133 (2025), a bond is not required of a personal representative unless the circuit court concludes a bond is in the best interests of the estate. There is no dollar threshold and no automatic trigger tied to formal versus informal proceedings -- it is a judge-by-judge decision. When a bond is ordered, SDCL 29A-3-604 sets the mechanics: the personal representative files a sworn estimate of the estate value and income, and the court sets the bond amount from that estimate. South Dakota does not use a fixed multiplier the way some Uniform Probate Code states do.
Who regulates surety bonds and the companies that write them in South Dakota?
The surety companies and the producers who sell bonds are regulated by the South Dakota Division of Insurance, which sits within the Department of Labor and Regulation. The Division licenses insurers and producers and confirms carriers are authorized to write surety in the state. The bond requirement itself, though, usually comes from a different agency depending on the bond -- the Department of Revenue for dealer and tax bonds, the State Electrical Commission for electrical contractors, the Secretary of State for business filings, and the circuit courts for probate and other court bonds. So one agency oversees the insurer while another sets the underlying requirement.
Can I get a South Dakota surety bond with bad credit?
Yes. Smaller license bonds such as the electrical contractor bond and the auto dealer bond can usually be approved across a wide range of credit profiles, though applicants with lower scores pay a higher premium rate -- often 5 to 10 percent of the bond amount rather than 1 to 3 percent. Federal bonds like the freight broker BMC-84 and court-set bonds are more sensitive to credit and financials. We place bonds with multiple carriers, including markets that specialize in higher-risk applicants, so a lower credit score usually changes your price rather than your eligibility.

Official South Dakota Resources

Government sources for South Dakota bond requirements

SD Division of Insurance (Dept. of Labor & Regulation)

Licenses the surety carriers and producers authorized to write bonds in South Dakota

SD Department of Revenue -- Motor Vehicle

Motor vehicle dealer licensing, the $25,000 motor vehicle dealer bond, and bonded titles

SD State Electrical Commission

Electrical contractor licensing and the $10,000 bond under SDCL 36-16

SD Secretary of State -- Notaries

Notary commissions and the post-2025 oath-only requirement (HB 1133)

South Dakota Codified Laws (SDCL)

Full statute text for the bond citations on this page, including 32-6B-7, 36-16, 18-1-2, 29A-3-603, and 32-3-64.1

Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
Reviewed by
Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
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All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.

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Verification Methodology

Bond amounts and statute citations on this page reflect South Dakota Codified Laws as published at sdlegislature.gov and the licensing pages of the responsible agencies. The auto dealer bond is tiered by dealer type ($25,000 for a full motor vehicle dealer) and kept in force each license period per SDCL 32-6B-7 (Department of Revenue). The electrical contractor bond is per SDCL 36-16 (State Electrical Commission); Sioux Falls city bond amounts are per municipal ordinance. The notary bond repeal is per HB 1133 (2025) amending SDCL 18-1-2, with the oath of office under SDCL 3-1-5. Probate bond discretion is per SDCL 29A-3-603 as amended by HB 1133 (2025), with amount-setting under SDCL 29A-3-604. Bonded title limits are per SDCL 32-3-64.1. The freight broker figure is the federal $75,000 BMC-84 under 49 U.S.C. § 13906. Premium ranges are illustrative and set by the surety at underwriting. If you find a discrepancy with a current statute, please contact us and we will correct it.

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Other South Dakota Bonds

Additional surety bonds available in South Dakota

South Dakota Contractor License Bond

Contractor licensing

South Dakota Auto Dealer Bond

DMV dealer licensing

South Dakota Performance Bond

Construction & service contracts

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From the $25,000 motor vehicle dealer bond to the electrical contractor, freight broker, and probate bonds -- we place every South Dakota bond with A-rated carriers, most of them same day.

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