What are South Dakota Property Records?
South Dakota property records are official documents containing information regarding state properties. Property owners prepare property documents and record them with the South Dakota County Register of Deeds according to the standards outlined in SDCL 43-28-23. Property records include deeds, mortgages, mortgage transfers, tax records for property, property survey records, liens, leases, satisfactions, easements, covenants, plats, and assignments. The cost of recording these documents varies and is available at SDCL 7-9-15, but there can be some exemptions. Most of the records in South Dakota County Register of Deeds offices date back to the early 1870s.
Record seekers can obtain certified and uncertified copies of property records from the Register of Deeds office where the property is located. To get property records from any of the 66 County Register of Deeds offices in South Dakota, individuals must be able to provide specific information about the property documents like book and page numbers or legal descriptions.
For instance, record seekers can obtain property records from the State Archives of the South Dakota State Historical Society online or in person at their office. Alternatively, requesters who want to search property records at the Grant County Register of Deeds office must do so in person at:
Grant County Register of Deeds
210 E 5th Ave
Milbank, SD 57252
Interested persons who cannot visit the Grant County Register of Deeds office can request property records by email at Wellnitz@grantcountysd.us or by phone at (605) 432-4752. Requests should be made during office hours from 8 am to 5 pm from Monday through Friday. Search fees are $20 plus the required document fee stated by South Dakota law.
Are South Dakota Property Records Public?
Per SDCL ch. 1-27, South Dakota property records are public records. Hence, all South Dakota residents and other members of the public can request to inspect or obtain copies of property records. The County Register of Deeds is the official custodian of property records in South Dakota. As such, anyone who wants to retrieve information regarding a property would have to make requests to the Register of Deeds office in the county where the property is located. The recording staff may require that the record seeker provide the document's book and page number. In a case where the book and page number are unknown, the legal description, the grantor's name, the grantee's name, or the document date will be requested.
Property records are available for public viewing through government agencies or third-party aggregate websites. Accessing property records through third-party sites is typically straightforward, and the records are not geographically limited. However, because the sites are not government-affiliated and run independently, the information contained in the records may vary. Searching parties should include the following information to obtain complete property records:
- The property’s exact location.
- The property owner’s details.
What Information is Included in Montana Property Records
When a property records search is done at the South Dakota County Register of Deeds, individuals can retrieve property information like the property owner's name, location, address, and building details and tax records information like:
- Tax ID
- Pin
- Owner's name
- Property address (subdivision name, legal description, and number of acres)
- General information (land use and type, use, structures, current owner-occupied status, taxable, assessable, and factored values)
- Sale information (seller's name, sale price, instrument date and type, filing date, book/page number, and document number)
- Districts information (school, water, fire, sewer, civil, road, and ambulance)
Additionally, the information contained in Montana property records can be found via the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) tools, depending on the type of record:
- Land patents information including:
- Patent Image
- Names on document
- Document numbers
- Survey information (total acres, survey date, geographic name, and metes/bounds
- Land description (map, state, meridian, aliquots, section, survey number and county)
- Miscellaneous information (land office, US and mineral reservations, tribe, and authority)
- Survey Plats and Field Notes (image, survey office, survey activities type, date and description, plat activities type, date and description, DM ID, duplicate status, supplemental, parent plat, child plats, county, mining district, acreage, land boundaries, field notes and mining survey index)
- Land Status Records (township/range, meridian, state office, pages, DM ID, document type, state, county, and posted date)
- Control Document Index Records (CDI) contain an image, title, name, county, geographic name and state, BLM serial number, CDI doc ID, LR-2000 doc ID, document type and activities, and land description.
Where to Search South Dakota Public Property Records
Individuals can search for South Dakota public property records at County Register of Deeds offices. It is important to note that public property records cannot be requested online in any South Dakota County Register of Deeds office. Requests can only be made by mail, email, phone, and in person. For instance, a record seeker who wants to search property records in the Fall River County Register of Deeds office can do so by phone, email, or in person at:
Fall River County Register of Deeds
906 N. River St.
Hot Springs, SD 57747
Phone: (605) 745-5139
Fax: (605) 745-3708
Email: rod@frcounty.org
Alternatively, record seekers can search for property records (especially land survey records) at the State Archives of the South Dakota State Historical Society office. Requests can be made via the Digital Archives tool or in person at:
South Dakota State Archives
900 Governors Drive
Pierre, SD 57501
Reference Desk Phone: (605) 773-3804
Reference Desk Email: archref@state.sd.us
Per SDCL 7-9-15(2), uncertified copies of property records cost $1 per page, while certified copies cost $5 for the first page and $1 each for additional pages.
How to Do a Property Records Search in South Dakota
Property records in South Dakota are available to interested members of the public at County Register of Deeds offices. Individuals must provide specific information like the property's legal description, document book, and page number, and the grantor's name or grantee's name to access property information at any County Register of Deeds office.
For instance, an individual can conduct a property records search by visiting the Register of Deeds office in Hand County during business hours (8:00 am – 5:00 pm). The office is located at:
Hand County Register of Deeds office.
415 W. 1st Avenue
Miller, SD 57362
Email: rod@handcountysd.org or rod.dep@handcountysd.org
Alternatively, copies of property records can be requested from the Hand County Register of Deeds office by phone at (605) 853-3512, and the requested copies will be sent to the requesters by mail or email. Copies of property documents cost $1 per page.
How to Find the Owner of a South Dakota Property Using Public Records
Requesters can find owners of South Dakota properties by making requests at County Register of Deeds offices. For instance, interested persons can find original owners of lands in Minnehaha County by making requests to the Register of Deeds. Land records requests can be made in person from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday at:
Minnehaha County Register of Deeds
415 N. Dakota Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone: (605) 367-4223
Individuals can also make electronic requests for copies of land documents to retrieve information about landowners through the Minnehaha County Register of Deedscentral email address.
Alternatively, individuals can request US land records to find landowners in South Dakota. US land records can be found using an online tool available on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) website. To find land records via BLM, follow the steps below:
- Go to the "Services" menu on the top bar of the website.
- Click on "Land Records" from the drop-down.
- Then click on specific link options depending on the focus of the search.
For instance, a requester who clicks on the "Check out the GLO Records website" link can search for information about land patents, survey plats and field notes, land status records, control document index records, tract books, and land catalogs. A click on any of these land information leads to the online tool where requesters can search for land documents by type, location, or identifier.
What are South Dakota Property Records Used For?
Property records are legal documents that provide information about lands and residential or commercial properties. It contains property ownership records, property sale records, and property survey records. In South Dakota, property records are public records. As such, authors, genealogists, historians, teachers, government officials, attorneys, property buyers, students, historic preservationists, exhibit designers, property sellers, journalists, and other members of the public can request them. In addition, individuals can request property records for different reasons like settling property disputes, learning about the property's historical value, gathering pre-purchase information, retrieving public records for property ownership, and research purposes. Generally, property records can be used by:
- Property owners to clarify the rights provided by an easement.
- South Dakota judges to settle outstanding lien disputes.
- Attorneys to solve issues related to wills, inheritances, and property shares.
- Mortgage lenders to settle any concerns regarding mortgages and foreclosures on a property.
- Property owners who have properties that are close to each other resolve boundary line disputes. Since property records contain the property description, disputing parties can request property records to check the property boundary lines.
- Property sellers to settle disputes relating to property ownership. With property ownership records, individuals can determine current and previous owners of properties.
- Property buyers to retrieve current and past information about registered properties before purchasing them.
- Researchers, historians, historic preservationists, and genealogists to determine the historical value of properties located in South Dakota
- Researchers, historians, teachers, and students for research purposes.
- A property buyer to find out the previous and current owners of a specific property to avoid being victims of scams. They also use property records to retrieve property sale records to ascertain their right to the property.
- Realtors obtain information that can be used for advertisement. This allows residents to know properties that are up for sale, the value of the property, and retrieve public records for property ownership.
- Journalists to know the previous and current owners of a property. In a case when there are controversial issues regarding the property, they can help provide meaningful information to the public after reaching out to the owners.
- Historic preservationists retrieve historical information about properties in South Dakota to help their research and develop strategies that can help preserve such properties.
- Exhibit designers create displays and fixtures that tell the stories or histories of properties like museums, libraries, and galleries.
- Authors to aid their book research, especially if it is real estate-inclined.
- Teachers or lecturers in fields like estate management, environmental science, and architecture as part of teaching aids give them accurate information about a course. It also helps to enhance student understanding.
How to Find South Dakota Property Tax Records
South Dakota property taxes are usually paid one year in arrears to County Treasurers. For instance, in the year 2022, property owners will be paying 2021 property taxes. South Dakota property owners paid over $1.49 billion in real estate taxes in 2021, with about 41.16% of the taxes coming from owner-occupied property owners. Records of these property taxes are public per South Dakota Public Records and Files Act. As such, South Dakota property tax records are available to anyone who inquire about them. Requests can be made online or in person at the County Treasurer's office. For instance, Pennington County residents can find tax records of properties online or in person at the Treasurer's Office. Online requesters can use the View/Pay Property Taxes feature on the Treasurer's website. Tax records search can be done by tax ID number, owner name, company or trust name, street/site address, seller, or subdivision. Individuals who request tax records online from Pennington County Treasurer's website should expect to retrieve information like tax ID, pin, owner's name, address, sale, and district information. Alternatively, tax records for property requests can be made in person at the Pennington County Treasurer's office. The office is located at:
Pennington County Treasurer's office
130 Kansas City Street
Suite 250
Rapid City, SD 57701
Phone: (605) 394-2163
Fax: (605) 394-6810 or (605) 394-2162
What to Do When You Can't Find Property Records in South Dakota
Ideally, a person should be able to access property records if the property owner registers the property with the County Register of Deeds Office. However, sometimes people might need help finding original copies of property records at the County Register of Deeds Office, especially if properties were not registered. In such cases, individuals should be able to find property records by:
- Contacting the mortgage company if the property has a mortgage.
- Contacting the solicitor who acted on behalf of the property buyer when the property was purchased.
- Asking the property owners to contact their lawyers to inquire if the property documents are with their Will.
- Asking the property owners to reach out to their accountants as some property owners leave their deeds and Will with accountants who may deal with their finances.
- Asking the property owner if they recall receiving any documents when they bought the property. Property buyers can talk with the lawyer who acted at the time of the purchase to inquire if they have any information about the property, can supply copies of the property documents, or have actually retained the documents
If the researcher cannot find property records after trying all the aforementioned options, they can search third-party sites like staterecords.org.
