South Dakota car registration and title fees

• Title fee (with state technology fee) — $12.00. $10 for the certificate of title plus a $2 state technology fee on the title transaction. Paid to your county treasurer. A dealer that files the paperwork for you collects the same amounts. (SDCL 32-3-18; SDCL 32-1-9; SD DOR fees page)
• Registration (by weight and age) — varies. A full year is $36 for a car up to 2,000 lbs, $72 from 2,001 to 4,000 lbs, $108 from 4,001 to 6,000 lbs and $144 above that, by the maker's shipping weight. A car 10 or more model years old pays 70% of that. South Dakota bills from the purchase date to the registration month set by the first letter of your last name, so the first bill runs from a few months to about 15. This shows one year at the 2,001 to 4,000 lb rate unless a weight is entered. (SDCL 32-5-6; 32-5-30; 32-5-2.4; 32-5-2.5; SD DOR staggered license fee schedule)
• Registration technology fee — $2.00. A $2 state technology fee on the registration transaction. (SDCL 32-1-9; SD DOR fees page)
• County wheel tax — varies. Your county sets a tax per wheel, up to $5, paid with the registration and prorated the same way. This is four wheels at the county's 2,001 to 4,000 lb rate for one year. For a car it runs from nothing in five counties to $20 in 31 counties. (SDCL 32-5A-1, 32-5A-3, 32-5A-5, 32-5A-7; SD DOR county wheel tax table (rev. 1/2026))
• Highway patrol and tire waste fees — $2.00. $1 highway patrol fee and $1 solid waste (tire) fee, collected when the car is registered. (SDCL 32-5-153; SDCL 34A-6-83)
• Electric vehicle fee — $100.00. An annual fee on a car that runs only on electricity from a plug. It rose from $50 to $100 in 2026. Plug-in hybrids and hybrids do not pay it. The law does not say whether the first year is prorated. (SDCL 32-5-188 (2026 HB 1227); SD DOR fees page)
• Lien notation fee (with state technology fee) — $12.00. $10 to record your lender's lien on the title plus a $2 state technology fee. (SDCL 32-3-45; SDCL 32-1-9; SD DOR fees page)
• Plate reassignment (with state technology fee) — $7.00. South Dakota plates belong to the owner, not the car. Moving yours to this car costs $5 plus a $2 technology fee. A plate with more than three months left carries its registration over, so no new registration fee is charged for it here. (SDCL 32-5-2.11; SDCL 32-1-9; Pennington County Treasurer fee list)

• You have 45 days from the purchase date to title the car and pay the excise tax at your county treasurer's office, or through a dealer that files for you. After 45 days the tax carries interest, after 60 days a 10% penalty, and a title application more than 45 days late costs $1 a week up to $50. The dealer's sold permit covers you until then.
• South Dakota does not tax cars as personal property, so there is no yearly property tax bill. The excise tax is paid once, at titling.
• Registration renews every year in the month that matches the first letter of your last name: A-B January, C-E February, F-G and J March, H-I and O May, K-L June, M-N July, P-R August, S September, T-Z November. The fee falls with the car's age: 70% once it is 10 model years old. The county wheel tax comes back every year with it.

• The $100 electric vehicle fee comes back with every annual registration renewal.

• South Dakota charges no sales tax on a car. It charges a 4% motor vehicle excise tax on the purchase price, the same everywhere in the state. No city or county adds to it. Your county treasurer collects it when you title the car. The dealer is not required to, though a dealer can file the paperwork for you.
• The tax follows the county where you live, not where the dealer is. You have 45 days to title the car. Interest starts after 45 days and a 10% penalty after 60.
• Your trade-in comes off the price before the 4% is figured, on new and used cars, with no dollar limit. The trade has to be titled in the same name as the new car, and the trade's VIN has to be on the purchase agreement.
• Registration is by weight and age, billed from the purchase date to a renewal month set by the first letter of your last name. The registration and county wheel tax amounts here are one-year estimates at the 2,001 to 4,000 lb rate; your first bill may be shorter or longer. The county treasurer quotes the exact amount, and the state's 605Drive site gives an estimate from your documents.

Source: South Dakota Codified Law §32-5B-1 (Excise Tax on Motor Vehicles) · rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Methodology.