South Dakota · Certified copy
South Dakota Birth Certificate: Order a Certified Copy Online
We prepare your application and file it with the Vital Records, South Dakota Department of Health. The office mails the certified copy to you.
- Secure payment
- Encrypted data
- Email support
- Private service — not a government agency
South Dakota at a glance
- Issuing office
- Vital Records, South Dakota Department of Health
- Who can order
- 17 relationships · see the list
- Standard processing
- 5–7 Business Days
- What you need
- Photo ID, names, date and place of birth, parents' names
- Expedited processing
- 1–3 Business Days
- Proof of relationship
- Required for some relationships
A certified copy is the document most agencies accept for a passport, a driver's license, school enrollment or benefits. South Dakota issues it for births recorded in the state.
South Dakota birth certificate: any Register of Deeds, from Sioux Falls to Rapid City
South Dakota gives certified birth certificates to the registrant, a spouse, children, parents, a guardian, next of kin such as grandparents and siblings, and authorized or designated agents, while anyone may buy an informational copy. You can apply at the state office in Pierre or at any county Register of Deeds, including Minnehaha and Pennington counties.
Certified copies under SDCL 34-25-52
South Dakota law lists the registrant, spouse, children, parents, guardian, next of kin and an authorized representative, and the department may approve others who show a personal or property right. The state application turns that into checkboxes: self, current spouse, parent, child, guardian, a grandparent, a sibling or a grandchild over eighteen, a designated agent, and a funeral director, attorney or physician. A guardian sends proof of the guardianship, a property-right claim needs documentation, and a designated agent brings a notarized statement from the person represented.
Sioux Falls, Rapid City and every Register of Deeds
Each county Register of Deeds acts as a local registrar and can print computer-generated certified copies, and the state invites applicants to apply at any Register of Deeds office in South Dakota. Minnehaha County, home to Sioux Falls, says it is authorized to issue South Dakota vital records and also keeps written transcripts from 1856 to July 1905, while Pennington County in Rapid City issues certified copies back to 1905. The state office in Pierre holds births filed after July 1905; earlier records are incomplete.
Four kinds of copy
The application offers a certified copy, printed on security paper with a raised seal and the registrar's signature, and an informational copy on plain paper marked as not legal proof of identification, which anyone can order. It also offers certified and informational photostatic copies, photocopies of the original record that the state describes as intended mainly for genealogy. A record without a first name cannot be issued as a certified copy until it is amended.
ID in person, notary or ID copy by mail
At a counter, applicants show a valid government photo ID, which may be a driver's license, state or tribal ID, passport or visa, or military ID, and may be issued by the United States or the applicant's country of residence. By mail, either have the application notarized or enclose a clear copy of the photo ID. Without a photo ID, send copies of two documents such as a Social Security card, a utility bill, a bank statement, a pay stub or a vehicle registration or title. The form asks for both parents' names, with the mother's maiden name required.
Adoptees, paternity and records a century old
After an adoption South Dakota issues a new certificate, and the original is sealed until the adoptee turns eighteen, when the adoptee can apply on the state's Application of Adoption Information form. A husband is presumed to be the father; that changes only by court order or notarized affidavits, and once a father is listed, only a court can replace him. Corrections use an affidavit or a court order. Birth records become public a hundred years after the birth, and genealogy requests go by mail to the state office.
How it works when you order with BirthChek
Our South Dakota form follows the state's checkboxes, from grandparent and sibling to physician, designated agent and personal or property right. Guardians and agents upload their papers. You give both parents' names, including the mother's maiden name, upload your ID and sign, and BirthChek files the request with South Dakota Vital Records.
Facts checked October 24, 2026 against the sources below.
Sources
- Eligibility and identification — South Dakota Department of Health – Vital Records
- Order vital records — South Dakota Department of Health – Vital Records
- Application for a certified copy of a vital record — South Dakota Department of Health – Vital Records
- SDCL 34-25-52: certified copies — South Dakota Legislature
- SDCL 34-25-16.6: copies issued by registers of deeds — South Dakota Legislature
- Vital records — Minnehaha County Register of Deeds
- Vital records — Pennington County Register of Deeds
- Open adoption records — South Dakota Department of Health – Vital Records
Where to get a South Dakota birth certificate: state and local offices
Certified copies for births recorded in South Dakota are issued by the Vital Records, South Dakota Department of Health.
We take orders for births anywhere in South Dakota, including Sioux Falls (Minnehaha County).
Who can order a South Dakota birth certificate
- You, the person named
- Brother
- Daughter
- Father
- Grandchild · 18 or older
- Grandparent
- Husband
- Mother
- Sister
- Son
- Wife
- Guardian · proof needed
- Attorney · proof needed
- Physician · proof needed
- Designated agent · proof needed
- Person with personal/property right · proof needed
- My relationship is not listed · proof needed
Relationships marked "proof needed" must send proof of the relationship with the application; we tell you what counts after you order.
Relationships marked "18 or older" must confirm their age in the application.
If your relationship is not listed, the office may refuse the application or ask for a court order.
Reasons to request a South Dakota birth certificate
- Adoption (International)
- Adoption (US Only)
- Driver's License
- Dual Citizenship/Immigration
- Employment
- Government Assistance/Benefits
- Housing
- Identification
- Income Tax
- Inheritance/Estate Settlement
- Insurance
- Legal Purposes
- Marriage (International)
- Marriage (US Only)
- Passport
- Personal Records/Use
- Retirement
- School
- Social Security Card/Benefits
- Sports
- Travel
What you need to order a South Dakota birth certificate
- A photo ID: driver's license, state ID, passport or military ID
- Full name on the certificate and date of birth
- City or county of birth
- Both parents' names, including the mother's maiden name
- A debit or credit card
- Proof of your relationship, for the relationships marked above
Prefer to order directly? Find the office in the CDC directory
Ready to order your South Dakota birth certificate?
About ten minutes. Have your photo ID nearby.