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South Dakota's business filings are handled by the Secretary of State. You look companies up in the Business Information Search on the office's sosenterprise.sd.gov portal. There is no charge to search. You can look up a name with Starts With or Contains, or go straight to a record with its Secretary of State Business ID.
South Dakota LLC and corporation search on sosenterprise.sd.gov
The search form is short. Pick how to match the name, type it in, and decide whether to tick Active Entities Only. Leave that box clear when you are looking for a closed company. Contains is the better choice when you only know a word from the middle of the name.
Registered agents have a separate search on the portal, by agent name or agent number. There is no search by officer, organizer or director. Our registered agent lookup guide covers what you can do with the agent details.
For a new name, the portal also has a Business Name Availability Search. It only checks the exact name you type, and the office calls it a preliminary name check only. Use the full Business Information Search to test spelling variants as well. Our name availability guide walks through a full check.
What a South Dakota detail page holds
Everything filed with the Secretary of State is public and sits on the business entity's detail page, including the filed documents. Most document images are online. The oldest archived documents have to be requested from the Business Filing Office. Certified copies cost $15 for the certification plus $2 a page.
Do not expect to find owners. The office does not file the owners of corporations or LLCs. An LLC record shows its organizers, and a corporation shows its incorporators and directors. If you need to trace who is behind a company, see our business owner lookup guide.
The status words follow the annual report cycle. A business is Active and in Good Standing while it is current. It turns Delinquent when the annual report is 2 months overdue. Stay delinquent and it may be Administratively Dissolved. Dissolution can also follow a missing registered agent or declined payments that leave fees unpaid.
LLC name rules in South Dakota
Under SDCL 47-34A-105, an LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or "limited company", or the abbreviation "L.L.C.", "LLC", "L.C." or "LC". "Limited" may be written "Ltd." and "company" may be written "Co.". The statute also says the name must be distinguishable upon the records of the secretary of state from other corporations, limited partnerships and companies in the state, and from reserved or registered names.
The office puts the test in plain terms: do the two names sound the same? Its FAQ gives two examples. "Philips Avenue Diner" and "John Philips Avenue Diner" are distinguishable, because the added word changes how the name sounds. "Dear LLC" and "Deer LLC" are not, because they sound the same.
A name with the word "TRUST" needs approval from the Division of Banking, so it cannot be filed online and must go on paper. If you want to hold a name before you file, a name reservation costs $25.
Annual reports and good standing
South Dakota sets the due date by your own calendar. Annual reports are due every year on the 1st day of the anniversary month of the original filing, and you can file from 2 months before. The fee schedule lists the LLC and corporation report at $55 online or $70 on paper. Nonprofits pay $10.
Miss the date by 2 months and the business becomes delinquent, with a $55 late fee. Nonprofits are exempt from that fee. A domestic LLC that has been dissolved can reinstate for $150 plus the missed reports and fees. For-profit entities must also get a Tax Clearance Certificate from the Department of Revenue first. A foreign entity cannot be reinstated and has to file a new Certificate of Authority.
Formation fees are $150 online for an LLC or a business corporation, $30 for a nonprofit and $750 online for a foreign LLC. Paper filings that could have gone online carry an extra $15. Online filings are processed immediately and paper ones in 1 to 3 business days on average. Expedited service is $50. Compare states on our LLC fees by state page.
The Certificate of Good Standing/Existence costs $20 online and downloads as a PDF straight away, or $35 on paper. It is only sold for active entities in good standing.
Buying South Dakota business data
The Secretary of State sells its business entity database. The first purchase is $1,500, with monthly updates at $750, weekly updates at $250 and a monthly new business entity file at $250. Subscription forms are on the database downloads page.
Registered agent in South Dakota
A South Dakota registered agent must be a resident of the state, with both a physical address and a mailing address in South Dakota. The Secretary of State's business services FAQ names three kinds of agent. A noncommercial agent is an individual who lives in South Dakota, or a business entity registered in the state. A commercial agent is an organization that has paid a registration fee and registered with the Secretary of State. The third kind is an officeholder, such as the president or secretary, and that option does not apply to LLCs.
A statement of change of registered agent or address costs $10, according to the filing fee schedule. The state's agent law is SDCL chapter 59-11.
Keep the agent current. Failing to keep a valid agent on file is one of the reasons the state gives for administrative dissolution, alongside a missed annual report and unpaid fees. A dissolved LLC can be reinstated, but the cost is the reinstatement fee plus every missed report. Our South Dakota LLC page has the numbers, and how to be your own registered agent covers serving for yourself.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in South Dakota.
Business license in South Dakota
The Secretary of State registers South Dakota businesses but does not license them. Its business services FAQ says state sales tax is handled by the Department of Revenue, and the Secretary of State does not process sales tax or hold sales tax identification information. It does not issue the federal EIN either. That comes from the IRS.
The Department of Revenue's sales and use tax page is where the license sits. It says any business with a physical presence in South Dakota is required to be licensed for sales tax collection. You register with the online Tax License Application. The page gives the state sales and use tax rate as 4.2%. We did not read a fee for the license, so we do not quote one.
A South Dakota LLC has other yearly duties with the Secretary of State, covered above. They are not license renewals.
The pages we read do not describe a general state business license, and we did not read city or county rules or any professional board. Ask your city or county about local licenses, and the board for your trade about its own. Our South Dakota LLC page covers formation, and business license lookup covers general lookups.