South Dakota Enhanced Concealed Carry Class Requirements

The class requirements for a South Dakota enhanced concealed carry permit come from SDCL 23-7-58: a qualifying handgun course taught by a dual-credentialed instructor, covering four specific subject areas, and including a live-fire qualification of at least 98 rounds. Your course completion certificate must be less than 12 months old when you apply at the sheriff’s office.¹

Who Can Teach the Class

Instructor credentials are where most searchers get tripped up. The statute requires the instructor to hold two active credentials at the same time: NRA certification and a current certificate of completion from the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation covering the use of force.¹

A course taught by someone with only one of those qualifications does not count toward an enhanced permit, no matter how thorough the class is. Before you pay for a course, ask the instructor directly whether they hold both credentials and whether they can produce documentation. A generic concealed carry class or a standard NRA basic pistol course is not automatically a qualifying course under South Dakota law.

What the Class Covers

The statute mandates four subject areas, and each has to be part of the curriculum.²

The first is South Dakota law on firearms and the use of force, including when deadly force is legally justified in self-defense. The second is the fundamentals of safe and responsible handgun use, covering topics like safe storage, proper grip, and how to handle malfunctions. The third is self-defense principles beyond the legal framework. The fourth is the live-fire component, which every student must complete personally.

The Live-Fire Qualification

You must fire at least 98 rounds during the live-fire portion. The statute sets that round count as a floor and stops there. It does not specify exact distances, target types, or scoring standards. Those are set by the Division of Criminal Investigation and by the individual instructor.¹

Expect to shoot at multiple distances and to demonstrate safe handling under range conditions. Bring your own handgun and ammunition. Confirm with your instructor beforehand what caliber to bring and how much, because some instructors require more than the statutory 98 rounds for their drills.

How Long the Class Runs and What It Costs

The statute does not set a minimum number of classroom hours. Length is the instructor’s call. In practice, most courses run a full day because covering the legal material thoroughly and getting every student through the range portion takes time.

Course prices are set by the instructor, not the state, and are separate from the fees you’ll later pay to the sheriff’s office and the Division of Criminal Investigation for fingerprinting and the background check. Ask about the total cost, including range fees and any required ammunition, before booking.

The 12-Month Certificate Window

Time your class carefully. Your completion certificate must be less than 12 months old at the time you file your application with the county sheriff.³

Taking the class too far in advance is a common mistake. If life gets in the way and 12 months pass before you get to the sheriff’s office, the certificate is no longer valid for an enhanced permit application, and you’ll have to take another qualifying course. Plan the class and the application together, not as separate errands months apart.

Renewal Class Requirements

Enhanced permits last five years, and renewal has its own training requirement rather than a full re-take of the initial course. You must complete three things during the renewal period: the live-fire component of a qualifying handgun course, instruction on current use-of-force standards, and instruction on any relevant changes to criminal statutes since your last permit was issued.⁴

The renewal window opens 12 months before expiration and closes 30 days after. Miss the 30-day grace period and the permit is dead. At that point you’re not renewing anymore; you’re starting over with a full initial qualifying course and a new fingerprint background check.

Current or former law enforcement officers have an alternative: they can substitute requalification on a certified shooting course approved by the Law Enforcement Officers Standards Commission, as long as it was completed within the 12 months before expiration.

Prerequisites Before You Sign Up

The class itself has no admission criteria beyond what the instructor sets, but there’s no point taking it if you can’t use the certificate. The enhanced permit requires you to be at least 21. Applicants between 18 and 20 can apply for a temporary restricted enhanced permit, which is a separate designation marked as restricted to that age range.⁵

You also need to satisfy the baseline eligibility rules that apply to every South Dakota concealed carry permit under SDCL 23-7-7.1. You must be a U.S. citizen or legal resident who has physically lived in the county where you’re applying for at least 30 consecutive days. You cannot have a felony conviction or a conviction for a crime of violence, be a fugitive from justice, or have pending charges or recent convictions related to firearms control, unlawful weapons use, or controlled substances that amount to a felony or misdemeanor within the past five years.⁶

The state also disqualifies anyone who is habitually intoxicated or drugged, has a history of violence, or was found to be a danger to themselves or others within the preceding ten years. That ten-year window applies to mental health adjudications; the substance abuse disqualifier has no expiration.⁶

Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) adds more categories: misdemeanor domestic violence convictions, certain protective orders, dishonorable discharge from the military, and mental defective adjudications, among others.⁷

Active duty military members and their spouses stationed in South Dakota are treated as residents, so the 30-day residency clock starts when you arrive at your duty station in the county.

After the Class: Applying With the Sheriff

Once you have a valid certificate, take it to the sheriff’s office in the county where you live. Not a different county, even if it’s more convenient. Bring the certificate, a valid government-issued photo ID proving identity and residency, and be ready to sign an authorization for the fingerprint background check.³

The sheriff’s office fingerprints you and sends the prints and the processing payment to the Division of Criminal Investigation, which forwards them to the FBI. Fee amounts are not set in the current statute and can vary, so call the sheriff’s office before your visit to confirm the current amount and accepted payment methods. If the sheriff takes your fingerprints, no additional fee can be charged for that service.³

If nothing disqualifying comes up in the initial screening, the sheriff must issue a temporary enhanced permit within 30 days. Once the FBI results confirm you passed every required check, the sheriff has seven days to file the application with the Secretary of State, and your permanent card arrives by mail after that.⁷

1
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23-7-58 – Qualifying Handgun Course
2
South Dakota Secretary of State. Qualifying Handgun Course for Enhanced Permits
3
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23-7-53 – Enhanced Permit to Carry Concealed Pistol Application
4
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23-7-56 – Enhanced Permit Renewal Requirements
5
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23-7-54.2 – Age Requirement for Enhanced Permit
6
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23-7-7.1 – Requirements for Issuance of Temporary Permit
7
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23-7-54 – Enhanced Permit Issuance