South Dakota Public Records: Requests, Fees & Exemptions

To file a South Dakota public records request, start with an informal ask to the custodian of the records at the agency that holds them; if that is denied, submit a formal written request to the agency’s public record officer, who then has ten business days to respond. The two-step process is set out in Chapter 1-27 of the South Dakota Codified Laws, and the legislature has directed that the chapter be read broadly in favor of disclosure.¹ You do not have to be a South Dakota resident to make a request.²

Start Informally

Contact the agency that holds the records and ask for what you want. The request can be oral or in writing and goes to the custodian of the records. Many routine requests never go any further than this. You can also walk into the office during normal business hours, inspect records on site, and take notes at no charge.²

Skipping straight to a formal written request is a common mistake. The written process is designed as the escalation step after an informal denial, not the opening move.

If pulling the records together is likely to cost more than $50, the custodian must give you a cost estimate before starting work, and you then have to confirm in writing that you accept the estimate and will pay.³

Escalate to a Formal Written Request

If the custodian denies your informal request in whole or in part, send a written request to the public record officer of the entity involved. This is when the statutory clock starts. The officer has ten business days to do one of three things: release the records, deny the request in writing with reasons, or acknowledge the request and give you a time estimate for a fuller response.⁴

The officer can ask you to clarify a vague request. If you do not respond within ten business days, the request is treated as withdrawn. If the officer fails to respond within ten business days or misses a revised time estimate, the law treats your request as denied, which gives you the right to appeal.⁴

Who Your Formal Request Goes To

South Dakota law designates a specific public record officer for each type of government body. Sending the request to the wrong person can leave it sitting unanswered.⁵

State agencies: the secretary, constitutional officer, elected official, or commissioner heading the department or office.
Counties: the county auditor, or the custodian of the record for law enforcement records.
First or second class municipalities: the finance officer or clerk, or the custodian for law enforcement records.
Third class municipalities: the president of the board of trustees, or the custodian for law enforcement records.
Organized townships: the township clerk.
School districts: the superintendent or CEO.
Special districts: the chairperson of the board of directors.
All other entities: the chief financial officer or a person the entity designates.

What You’ll Pay

Inspecting records on site is free. Fees come in when you want copies or when fulfilling the request takes significant staff time. For specialized work, such as producing records in a particular electronic format, the agency can charge a reasonable fee that may include a share of equipment and software costs. No agency has to buy new hardware or software just to produce records in a format it does not already support.⁶

One useful exception: agencies cannot charge a fee for electronically transferring minutes of open meetings from the past three years.⁶ The custodian also has discretion to waive or reduce fees when disclosure serves the public interest.³

What the Agency Can Withhold

The presumption favors access, but Chapter 1-27 carves out categories of information that agencies may or must withhold. Knowing the main ones ahead of time helps you anticipate what might come back redacted or refused.

Student records held by educational institutions are exempt beyond routine directory information. Medical records are protected, including records tied to drug or alcohol testing, treatment, or counseling. Personnel files are largely off-limits, but employee salaries and routine directory information about government workers are public and cannot be withheld.⁷

Agencies that investigate people or businesses can withhold records tied to an active investigation, including intelligence files, informant identities, citizen complaints, and tactical training information. Records showing the presence or concentration of alcohol or drugs in body fluids are not shielded, and a 911 recording can be released if the agency or a court finds the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest in keeping it confidential. Records covered by attorney-client privilege or attorney work product are also exempt.⁷

A separate section shields trade secrets submitted to agencies, vendor pricing strategies, financial data submitted with bids or loan applications, state investment research, source code, and proprietary research data where disclosure would cause private gain or public loss.⁸ Appraisals and negotiation records related to a public body’s purchase or sale of property are also exempt.⁷

When a document mixes public and exempt information, the officer can redact the exempt portions and release the rest. A redaction counts as a partial denial, so if you think too much was blacked out, you have the same appeal rights as if the whole request had been refused.⁹

If Your Request Is Denied

Every denial of a written request has to be accompanied by a written explanation of the reasons.⁴ Each public body also keeps a permanent file of its denial letters, and that file is itself open to inspection, which can show you whether an agency routinely invokes the same exemption.¹⁰

You have 90 days from the date of the denial to act. You can file a civil lawsuit, or you can submit a written notice of review to the Office of Hearing Examiners. The same right applies if you object to the agency’s fee estimate or its projected response time.¹¹

The administrative route is simpler and cheaper than court. Your notice of review goes by registered or certified mail to the Office of Hearing Examiners in Pierre and must include your contact information, the public record officer’s name and address, copies of your written request and the denial, and any supporting information you want considered.¹¹ Once the Office receives your filing, the agency has ten business days to file a written response. The Office can then decide the matter on the documents alone, without a hearing, unless it determines a hearing is needed.¹²

If the Office orders the agency to release records or finds the fee was excessive, the agency has 30 days to comply or appeal to circuit court. No records are released while an appeal is pending, and either side can appeal the hearing examiner’s decision.¹³

If a court finds that the agency acted unreasonably and in bad faith, it can award you costs and disbursements and impose a civil penalty of up to $50 for each day the records were delayed. The civil penalty goes to the state general fund; the costs and disbursements go to you.¹⁴

Making Your Request Work the First Time

Be specific. A sweeping ask for “all emails from the county commission” with no time frame invites a clarification request that resets the clock. Something like “emails between Commissioner Smith and the planning director regarding the Main Street rezoning proposal from January through March 2026” is far more likely to get filled quickly.

Start informally and stay cooperative. Most custodians handle records alongside their regular duties, and a civil approach often gets you documents faster than a formal demand would. Save the written request for the situations where the informal ask has actually been denied or ignored.

If you expect a lot of documents, ask for electronic copies. You avoid per-page photocopy charges, and for recent open meeting minutes the statute blocks any transfer fee at all. For anything larger, remember that the $50 threshold triggers a cost estimate before work begins, so you will not be surprised by a bill.³

Keep copies of everything you send and receive. If you end up filing for administrative review, you will need to attach your original written request and the agency’s denial, and the 90-day appeal window runs from the date of that denial.¹¹ Miss the deadline and you lose the right to challenge.

1
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27 – Public Records and Files
2
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27-1 – Public Records Open to Inspection and Copying
3
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27-36 – Estimate of Retrieval and Reproduction Cost
4
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27-37 – Written Request for Disclosure of Records
5
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27 – Public Records and Files – Section 1-27-42
6
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27 – Public Records and Files – Section 1-27-1.2
7
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27 – Public Records and Files – Section 1-27-1.5
8
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27-1.6 – Certain Financial, Commercial, and Proprietary Information Exempt from Disclosure
9
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27-1.10 – Redaction of Certain Information
10
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27-1.4 – Denial Letters to Be Kept on File
11
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27-38 – Civil Action or Administrative Review of Denial of Written Request or Estimate of Fees
12
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27-43 – Forms
13
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27 – Public Records and Files – Section 1-27-40.1
14
South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Codified Law 1-27 – Public Records and Files – Section 1-27-40.2