South Dakota LLC

Annual report

$55

Due 1st day of anniversary month, printed as the state writes it.

last verified 2026-07-17

Franchise tax

none

No recurring state-level tax on an LLC here. The absence is verified against the state, not missing data.

verified absent 2026-08-08

dor.sd.gov

Anonymous LLC

Member or organizer names reach the public formation record here.

dataset revision 2026-08-10

derived from the definition, no statute read

Processing time

1 to 3 business days

By mail, 1 to 3 business days, as the state states it. Expedited formation starts at $50.

as observed on 2026-08-06

Name designators

Must contain the words "limited liability company" or "limited company," or the abbreviations "L.L.C.," "LLC," "L.C.," or "LC." The word "limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "company" may be abbreviated "Co."

Statute: SDCL § 47-34A-105.

last verified 2026-07-23

Name reservation

$25

Optional filing that holds the name for 120 days before you form.

last verified 2026-07-23

DBA

fictitious name

One statewide register; the filing costs $10.

last verified 2026-07-23

An individual as the agent

allowed

Whether a person may hold the seat, so nobody has to be hired. The terms South Dakota attaches, and the entity question, sit in the registered agent section.

last verified 2026-08-10

field 05 carries the date it was observed, not a promise: of the two halves beside it, only the expedited tiers are prices the state commits to

What are the South Dakota trade name rules?

South Dakota calls it the fictitious name, and keeps one statewide register for it. The state filing costs $10.

Where an LLC files

How long it lasts

5 years

A DBA registration is effective for five years and must be renewed within 90 days of its expiration date; an expired registration cannot be renewed and must be filed anew.

Newspaper publication

not required

What the filing protects

no exclusive right

A fictitious business name registration discloses the name a business trades under and grants no exclusive right. It is held in the Secretary of State's DBA registry, which is separate from the entity-name distinguishability records used at formation, so a DBA neither blocks nor is blocked by names in the business-entity index.

Where to search existing names

DBA registrations are searchable in the Secretary of State's business filing search alongside entities. Because South Dakota runs one statewide registry, a single search covers the state, though older county Register of Deeds filings may exist outside it.

one record, verified 2026-07-23 · SDCL § 37-11-1

What does it take to register an out-of-state LLC in South Dakota?

Registering an LLC formed elsewhere is its own filing in South Dakota. The registration costs $750. That price belongs to a separate filing event, so it enters no cost total on this site.

Registration fee

$750

Online filing fee of $750.00; paper filing adds the $15.00 paper filing fee ($765.00 total, stated on the form).

The official form

Application for Certificate of Authority (Foreign Limited Liability Company)

Filed with

South Dakota Secretary of State

After registration

File the annual report ($55.00 online / $70.00 paper) and maintain a registered agent in South Dakota.

one record, verified 2026-08-08

The same fee for every other jurisdiction sits on one page: foreign qualification fees for every jurisdiction.

Who may serve as the registered agent in South Dakota?

Who may serve as an LLC's registered agent is its own rule in South Dakota. South Dakota lets a natural person serve, so no commercial agent is required.

An individual as the agent

Allowed

in the state's words An individual or a domestic or foreign entity that serves in this state as the agent for service of process of an entity

The LLC as its own agent

not read at this pin

A mailbox service as the address

not read at this pin

Address rule

Whenever a provision of this chapter other than subdivision 59-11-15(4) requires that a filing state an address, the filing must state: (1) An actual street address or rural route box number in this state; and (2) A mailing address in this state, if different from the address under subdivision (1).