South Dakota Misdemeanor Classes: Fines, Jail Time, and Record

South Dakota has two misdemeanor classes. A Class 1 misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. A Class 2 misdemeanor caps out at 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.¹ Those headline numbers are only part of the picture: mandatory surcharges, restitution, firearm consequences, and a permanent conviction record often matter more than the fine itself.

Class 1 Misdemeanors

Class 1 is the more serious tier. A judge can impose up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.¹ Restitution to any victim is ordered on top of the jail time or fine.

Common Class 1 offenses include first- and second-offense DUI and simple assault. A first DUI conviction also triggers a mandatory driver’s license revocation of at least 30 days.² Simple assault covers a range of conduct, from recklessly causing bodily injury to threatening someone with imminent physical harm.³ Petty theft also lands here when the stolen property is worth more than $400 but no more than $1,000.⁴

Repeat Class 1 offenses can escalate out of the misdemeanor category entirely. A third simple assault conviction within ten years becomes a Class 6 felony, and a fourth within ten years becomes a Class 5 felony.³

Class 2 Misdemeanors

Class 2 is the lower tier. Penalties are capped at 30 days in county jail, a $500 fine, or both.¹ These are still criminal convictions, not traffic citations, and they carry the same long-term record consequences as any other crime.

Disorderly conduct is a typical Class 2 offense. Petty theft of property worth $400 or less also sits here, as petty theft in the second degree. Class 2 offenses can escalate too: a fourth disorderly conduct conviction within ten years is bumped up to a Class 1 misdemeanor.⁵

What You Actually Pay

The statutory fine is never the whole bill. South Dakota adds a mandatory court automation surcharge to every criminal conviction: $41.50 for a Class 1 misdemeanor and $23.50 for a Class 2 misdemeanor.⁶ The statute describes the surcharge as being in addition to any other liquidated costs, penalty, assessment, or fine, so other fees can stack on top. Add restitution ordered to any victim, and the total out-of-pocket cost often runs well past the base fine.

Corporations and other business entities face higher fines, since they can’t serve jail time. A Class 1 misdemeanor conviction can cost a business up to $5,000, and a Class 2 up to $1,000 — two and a half times the individual fine amounts.⁷

Keeping a Conviction Off Your Record

South Dakota does not allow expungement of criminal convictions. The state’s expungement statute only reaches arrest records where charges were never filed, were dismissed, or ended in acquittal.⁸ Once a misdemeanor conviction is entered, it stays.

The one meaningful workaround is a suspended imposition of sentence. The court accepts the guilty plea or verdict but does not enter a formal judgment of guilt, placing the defendant on probation instead. Complete probation successfully, and no conviction appears on the record.⁹

You only get one. Anyone who has previously received a suspended imposition for a misdemeanor in any state is barred from receiving another.⁹ Using it on a minor offense means it won’t be available later. Courts can also suspend the execution of a sentence that has already been imposed, which keeps you out of jail if you comply with conditions, but the conviction still goes on your record.¹⁰

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

A misdemeanor conviction can show up on background checks indefinitely. The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s seven-year cap on adverse information explicitly excludes conviction records, so a Class 2 misdemeanor from 15 years ago can still appear on an employer’s report.¹¹ Non-conviction records such as dismissed charges and acquittals drop off after seven years from the date of the charge.

If the offense involves domestic violence, federal firearm consequences attach regardless of how South Dakota labels the charge. Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms. The trigger is the underlying conduct: a misdemeanor involving the use or attempted use of physical force against a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, or cohabitant. A South Dakota simple assault conviction under SDCL 22-18-1 qualifies if the victim fits one of those relationships. The ban is retroactive to convictions from any date and lasts for life unless the conviction is expunged, set aside, or civil rights are restored with an explicit right to possess firearms.¹²

How Long Prosecutors Have to File

South Dakota gives prosecutors seven years from the date of the offense to file misdemeanor charges.¹³ That window is unusually long. A minor incident from several years back can still produce a charge.

1
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 22-6-2 – Misdemeanor Penalties
2
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 32-23-2 – DUI First Offense Penalties
3
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 22-18-1 – Simple Assault
4
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 22-30A-17.2 – Petty Theft in the First Degree
5
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 22-18-35 – Disorderly Conduct
6
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 16-2-41 – Court Automation Surcharge
7
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Senate Bill 47 – Misdemeanor Penalties
8
South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Expungement
9
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23A-27-12.2 – Suspended Imposition of Sentence for Misdemeanor
10
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23A-27-18 – Suspension of Execution of Sentence
11
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fair Credit Reporting Act and Background Screening
12
United States Department of Justice. Restrictions on the Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence
13
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Code 23A-42-2 – Seven-Year Limitation on Other Prosecutions