Finding South Dakota Court Records - Pitfalls to Avoid

Sometimes, searching for South Dakota court records can be a daunting task. RecordsSiteReviews takes the headache out of searching for such records by providing you with valuable information and important SD court records links below.


South Dakota court records should not always be taken at face value, especially for older records where inaccuracies are common. Instead, you should always be ready to verify and double check if the information that you’ve gathered match the data that can be found in other public records. Although correcting inaccuracies may mean having to go from one government office to another, this is a necessary step that has to be taken before you could assume that you are indeed dealing with facts.

SD Court Records - 'Danger Zones' to Avoid

In going through court records in South Dakota, there are a number of pitfalls that you may encounter. It is possible that more than one person shares the same name and lives in the same location. Before you make any assumptions based on the first set of court records that you find, double check before you conclude that you have the right information. Another way in which mistaken identities may occur is by being too quick to presume that anyone with the same last name, no matter how rare it may be, are related. Again, you need to look for supporting documents and other kinds of records that will validate this.

Factual errors here and there are bound to occur, especially with records that have been filled out manually. If you encounter conflicting birthdates for instance, the trick is to go with the one closer to the date of the birth of the individual. The date of birth stated in a birth certificate is more likely to be true and accurate compared to the one that was provided in a testimony or in a death certificate.

While getting information from some of the locals may be helpful in some cases, you have to keep in mind that human memory is not altogether reliable. It may help in giving you some leads, such as finding the right courthouse to visit, but dates and names will be harder to trust when they come simply from an old timer who knew the people involved in the court case.

Before the 1700s, a Julian calendar was used to record dates, which meant that the first day of the year starts in March. If you are looking for SD court records dating back this far, it is important to take note of this fact.

South Dakota Court Records Websites

Supreme Court Opinions

Unified Judicial System

A Selection of South Dakota County Courthouses You Can Visit


Aurora County
P.O. Box 397
Plankinton, SD 57368-0366
Telephone: (605) 942-7161

Beadle County
P.O. Box 55
Huron, SD 57350
Telephone: (605) 352-3168

Bennett County
P.O. Box 433
Martin, SD 57551
Telephone: (605) 685-6054

Bon Homme County
Box 3
Tyndall, SD 57066
Telephone: (605) 589-4217

Brookings County
314 6th Ave.
Brookings, SD 57006
Telephone: (605) 688-4200

Brown County
Box 1307
Aberdeen, SD 57401
Telephone: (605) 626-7140

Brule County
300 S. Courtland, Suite 110
Chamberlain, SD 57325
Telephone: (605) 734-5310

Buffalo County
Courthouse Square, Box 174
Gann Valley, SD 57341
Telephone: (605) 293-3239

Butte County
839 5th Ave.
Belle Fourche, SD 57717
Telephone: (605) 892-2912

Campbell County
P.O. Box 148
Mound City, SD 57646-0148
Telephone: (605) 955-3505

Charles Mix County
P.O. Box 206
Lake Andes, SD 57356
Telephone: (605) 487-7141

Clark County
P.O. Box 294
Clark, SD 57225-0294
Telephone: (605) 532-5363

Clay County
P.O. Box 536
Vermillion, SD 57069-0536
Telephone: (605) 677-7130

Codington County
P.O. Box 1054
Watertown, SD 57201-3611
Telephone: (605) 882-5095

Corson County
P.O. Box 256
McIntosh, SD 57641-0256
Telephone: (605) 273-4395

Custer County
420 Mt. Rushmore Rd.
Custer, SD 57730
Telephone: (605) 673-4816

Davison County
200 E. 4th St.
Mitchell, SD 57301
Telephone: (605) 995-3808

Day County
710 W. 1st St.
Webster, SD 57274-1396
Telephone: (605) 345-4162

Deuel County
P.O. Box 308
Clear Lake, SD 57226-0308
Telephone: (605) 874-2120

Dewey County
P.O. Box 117
Timber Lake, SD 57656-0117
Telephone: (605) 865-3661

Douglas County
P.O. Box 267
Armour, SD 57313
Telephone: (605) 724-2204

Edmunds County
P.O. Box 386
Ipswich, SD 57451
Telephone: (605) 426-6431

Fall River County
906 N. River St.
Hot Springs, SD 57747
Telephone: (605) 745-5139

Faulk County
P.O. Box 309
Faulkton, SD 57438-0309
Telephone: (605) 598-6228

Grant County
P.O. Box 587
Milbank, SD 57252-0587
Telephone: (605) 432-4752

Gregory County
P.O. Box 437
Burke, SD 57523-0437
Telephone: (605) 775-2624

Haakon County
P.O. Box 100
Philip, SD 57567
Telephone: (605) 859-2785

Hamlin County
P.O. Box 56
Hayti, SD 57241
Telephone: (605) 783-3206

Hand County
415 W. 1st Ave.
Miller, SD 57362-1346
Telephone: (605) 853-3512

Hanson County
P.O. Box 500
Alexandria, SD 57311-0500
Telephone: (605) 239-4512

Harding County
P.O. Box 101
Buffalo, SD 57720
Telephone: (605) 375-3321

Hughes County
104 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501
Telephone: (605) 773-7495

Hutchinson County
140 Euclid, Room 37
Olivet, SD 57052-2103
Telephone: (605) 387-4217

Hyde County
P.O. Box 342
Highmore, SD 57345
Telephone: (605) 852-2517


Jackson County
P.O. Box 248
Kadoka, SD 57543-0248
Telephone: (605) 837-2420

Jerauld County
P.O. Box 452
Wessington Springs, SD 57382-0452
Telephone: (605) 539-1221

Jones County
P.O. Box 446
Murdo, SD 57559-0446
Telephone: (605) 669-2132
Kingsbury County
P.O. Box 176
De Smet, SD 57231
Telephone: (605) 854-3811

Lake County
County Courthouse
200 E. Center
Madison, SD 57042
Telephone: (605) 256-5644

Lawrence County
P.O. Box 565
Deadwood, SD 57732
Telephone: (605) 578-3930

Lincoln County
100 E. 5th St.
Canton, SD 57013
Telephone: (605) 987-5891

Lyman County
P.O. Box 98
Kennebec, SD 57544-0098
Telephone: (605) 869-2297

Marshall County
P.O. Box 130
Britton, SD 57430-0130
Telephone: (605) 448-2352

McCook County
P.O. Box 338
Salem, SD 57058
Telephone: (605) 425-2701

McPherson County
County Courthouse
Box 129
Leola, SD 57456
Telephone: (605) 439-3151

Meade County
1425 Sherman St.
Sturgis, SD 57785-0447
Telephone: (605) 347-2356

Mellette County
P.O. Box 183
White River, SD 57579-0183
Telephone: (605) 259-3371

Miner County
P.O. Box 546
Howard, SD 57349
Telephone: (605) 772-5621

Minnehaha County
415 N. Dakota Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD 57104-2465
Telephone: (605) 367-4223

Moody County
County Courthouse, P.O. Box 247
Flandreau, SD 57028-0247
Telephone: (605) 997-3151

Pennington County
315 St Joseph St.
Rapid City, SD 57701
Telephone: (605) 394-2177

Perkins County
P.O. Box 127
Bison, SD 57620-0127
Telephone: (605) 244-5620

Potter County
201 S. Exene St.
Gettysburg, SD 57442
Telephone: (605) 765-9467

Roberts County
411 2nd Ave. E
Sisseton, SD 57262-1495
Telephone: (605) 698-7152

Sanborn County
P.O. Box 295
Woonsocket, SD 57385-0295
Telephone: (605) 796-4516

Shannon County
906 N. River St.
Hot Springs, SD 57747-1387
Telephone: (605) 745-5139

Spink County
P.O. Box 226
Redfield, SD 57469
Telephone: (605) 472-0150

Stanley County
P.O. Box 596
Fort Pierre, SD 57532-0596
Telephone: (605) 223-2610

Sully County
P.O. Box 265
Onida, SD 57564-0265
Telephone: (605) 258-2331

Todd County
200 E. 3rd St.
Winner, SD 57580-1806
Telephone: (605) 842-2208

Tripp County
200 E. 3rd St.
Winner, SD 57580-1806
Telephone: (605) 842-2208

Turner County
P.O. Box 485
Parker, SD 57053-0485
Telephone: (605) 297-3443

Union County
P.O. Box 757
Elk Point, SD 57025
Telephone: (605) 356-2132

Walworth County
P.O. Box 159
Selby, SD 57472-
Telephone: (605) 649-7057

Yankton County
P.O. Box 694
Yankton, SD 57078-0694
Telephone: (605) 665-2422

Ziebach County
P.O. Box 68
Dupree, SD 57623-0068
Telephone: (605) 365-5165
 

Visiting South Dakota County Courthouses are great options to have to find the court record(s) you want. However, going this route may take quite a while. For time-efficient, hassle-free searching, give online court record search service providers a try!
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