Certificate Information
Vital records are housed and issued by the South Dakota Department of Health. The department currently has almost all birth records for the state, but death and marriage records are limited. Records for marriages before 1970 and deaths before 1960 must be acquired from the county in which they were filed. Orders can be made by mail, online, over the phone or in person. Although geneological searches should use the mail to provide more time and a more thorough search. A public record search costs $15 dollars and an expedited service is available for $11.50 dollars more.
South Dakota Department of Health
Vital Records
207 E Missouri Ave Suite 1A
Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: 605-773-4961
Fax: 605-773-2680
• Birth Records
• Death Records
• Marriage Records
• Divorce Records
Adoption Records
Only adoptees and adoptive parents are legally able to open sealed adoption records. To do so, contact the court where the adoption was finalized to receive a certified court order to open sealed files. Non-identifying information is available to any adult age adoptee or their adoptive parents with proper identification and a written request. Information includes: approximate age of parents, heritage, general physical appearance, hobbies, talents, existence of other family, religion, and health history. The department of Social Services also maintains a Voluntary Adoption Registry to allow sharing of information or contact between consenting parties.
Department of Social Services
Division of Child Protection Services
Adoption Unit
700 Governors Drive
Pierre, SD 57501
(605) 773-3227
• Voluntary Registry Form (PDF)
Property Records
Property and parcel records in South Dakota are left to the county level government. In most cases the data is handled by the county treasurer, appraiser, or tax department. Most search tools directly relate to finding the tax valuation to facilitate payment. In a few cases, the search tools are incorporated into the GIS mapping tool.
• Minnehaha County Property Search
• Pennington County Property Search
• Lincoln County Property Map
• Brown County Property Tax Search
• Brookings County Property Search