Changes To Teen Driver Permits
(Effective July 1, 2021)

The changes to teen driver permits and rules brought about by 2020 Senate Bill 113 are currently suspended by Governor Noem until June 30, 2021.  Please review this information carefully and note it will apply to both existing and new learner’s and restricted permit applicants starting July 1, 2021. There is no “grandfathering,” so this applies to all unless they have already upgraded to an unrestricted adult driver’s license. 

Instruction Permits:

• Must be eligible to upgrade (driven 90 days with driver’s ed or 180 days without driver’s ed on the permit), and have upgraded to a Restricted Permit before 7/1/2021. 
• Those not eligible to upgrade to a Restricted Permit before 7/1/2021 will fall under the new instruction permit laws:
          1.  Must drive on the Instruction Permit for 180 days (with driver's ed)
          2.  Must drive on the Instruction Permit for 275 days (without driver's ed)
          3.  Must have a minimum of 50 hours of parent/guardian supervised driving (10 hours at night
               and 10 hours in inclement weather) to upgrade to a Restricted Permit.  When the driver and
               parent/guardian return to an exam station to upgrade to a Restricted Permit, the parent will
               need to sign the “Supervised Driving Statement” affirming the permit holder has completed
               the required supervised driving.  Use this student driving log to record the hours driven.

Restricted Permits:

Restricted Permits not upgraded to Operator licenses before 7/1/2021 will fall under the new regulations:

• Anyone under 18 must hold a restricted permit for 6 months (and meet all the other requirements) before upgrading to a full operator license.
• Anyone driving on a Restricted Permit cannot have any passengers outside their immediate family or household for 6 months from the initial permit issuance date. 
• Anyone who has driven on a Restricted Permit for 6 months or more may only have one passenger outside their immediate family or household.

Operator License:

• Must be 16 years of age,
• Have met the requirements of an Instruction Permit (see above),
• And driven on a Restricted Permit for a minimum of 6 months.

           Renew Online        Renew by Mail       

If your driver license has been expired for more than 30 days,
you must schedule an appointment to visit a driver exam station, as 
you will be required to take and pass the written knowledge test.
If you have a motorcycle endorsement (Class 2 license), 
you will have to take the operator's written knowledge test
and the motorcycle written knowledge test. 

 
Make Appointment to
Visit a South Dakota Driver Exam Station

Visit our CDL page for specific information about Commercial Driver Licenses (CDLs).

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At this time, we strongly encourage persons eligible to renew or request
a replacement driver license/ID card online or by mail to do so.

Anyone who did not renew using the online or mail-in method 5 years ago
(or for your last renewal) is eligible to renew online or by mail.

A replacement or duplicate license or ID card may be requested
online or by mail once every 10 years.

RENEW ONLINE OR BY MAIL.

This will help us serve the customers who urgently need to visit our exam stations.

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YOU MUST SCHEDULE AN Appointment to visit

a South Dakota Driver Exam station in person. 

We cannot take walk-in customers at this time. 

To schedule an appointment, 
please click here.

Anyone who is ill or experiencing COVID-19-related symptoms
is asked to stay home until they are well. 

You can complete your application before arriving at the exam station.

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For all other driver licensing questions or issues, 
send an email to the Driver Licensing Program staff
or call (605) 773-6883 (be prepared to leave a message,
as our customer call volume has been extremely high).

We thank you for your patience as we endeavor to work through 
the backlog created by the COVID-19 pandemic.