State records guide

Title research in South Dakota

Facts below are taken from South Dakota statutes and official sources, each linked, each checked on the date shown. General information, not legal advice.

What a South Dakota title search has to account for

Who keeps South Dakota land records?

Land records are kept by the register of deeds. The statute linked above has the register keep full and true records, in proper books, of all deeds, mortgages and other instruments that the law authorizes to be recorded in that office. A document presented for recording must carry a legend stating prepared by and the preparer's name, address and telephone number, except documents dated before July 1, 1994, documents prepared by a government or its agencies, and court documents bearing the court's certification.

Section 7-9-8 has the register keep one numerical index of deeds and other instruments that are not merely liens and another of mortgages and other liens, laid out by lot and block for municipal property and by township, range and section for rural land. There are 66 counties in the census count. The report traces the chain of title as far back as the county's records go, with document images of the key instruments, and verifies findings with the assessor, tax office, recorder and courts.

How is a South Dakota mortgage foreclosed, and how long can the owner redeem?

Foreclosure without a lawsuit is allowed. Section 21-48-1 lets every mortgage of real property that contains a power of sale be foreclosed by advertisement on default, and section 21-48-2 requires the mortgage, and every assignment of it, to have been recorded in the county where the premises sit before that route can be used. Once foreclosure by advertisement begins, section 21-48-9 lets the mortgagor, a successor in interest or anyone claiming a lien, encumbrance or recorded ownership interest apply to the court to require the holder to foreclose by action.

Section 21-52-11 gives all persons entitled to redeem, in all cases, one year from the date of sale, except under a one hundred eighty day redemption mortgage. For that kind of mortgage, sections 21-49-30 and 21-49-38 run the period from the recording of the certificate of sale, which must be recorded within twenty days of the sale: one hundred eighty days, or sixty days if the property is abandoned. An auction title report reports the foreclosing lien's position and the liens that would survive, in dollars, for the bidder's attorney.

What happens to unpaid property taxes in South Dakota?

Unpaid taxes lead to a tax certificate sale. Section 10-25-1 lets the holder of an unredeemed certificate begin a proceeding to procure a tax deed after three years from the date of the certificate sale and within six years of it, the same period for the county or any other purchaser, and an assignee takes the certificate subject to the time period of its first owner. A proceeding not completed within six years of the sale bars the certificate and its lien under section 10-25-16, but section 10-25-17 exempts certificates the county holds, and a buyer of a county certificate dated more than four years before its assignment has one year from the assignment to begin.

Any person may redeem a tax certificate before a tax deed issues by paying the treasurer the sum on the certificate, interest at the rate at which the property was sold, and later taxes the holder paid with interest at the same rate. Section 10-25-8 keeps the right of redemption open until sixty days after the affidavit of completed service of the notice is filed with the treasurer, and under section 10-25-8.1 failure to redeem in that time passes the interests of the owner, mortgagees and lienholders to the certificate holder, subject to the taxes, liens and encumbrances section 10-25-12 lists. The report verifies tax sales and redemptions with the tax office and states the surviving liens, taxes and assessments in dollars.

Does South Dakota allow a transfer on death deed?

It does. The statute linked above lets property be transferred to one or more beneficiaries by a transfer on death deed, effective at the transferor's death. Section 29A-6-408 requires the deed to be recorded before the transferor's death in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the property is located, and section 29A-6-414 says that during the transferor's life the deed does not affect the transferor's right to transfer or encumber the property, does not affect a creditor's rights, and creates no legal or equitable interest in favor of the beneficiary.

A probate title search finds the decedent's property by name and reports vesting at death, how title passes, including joint tenancy, a transfer on death deed, a trust or a life estate, and the liens to pay.

Is South Dakota a community property state?

Divorce courts divide property equitably. The statute linked above lets the court, when a divorce is granted, make an equitable division of the property belonging to either or both spouses, whether the title stands in the name of the husband or the wife, having regard for equity and the circumstances of the parties.

Spouses may also opt into a form of community property. Section 55-17-3 lets them classify property as special spousal property by transferring it to a South Dakota special spousal trust that expressly declares the property community property, and unless the trust instrument says otherwise each spouse's interest is fifty percent. The report states the recorded deed or decree it finds, and an attorney reads the effect.

Which package fits a South Dakota property?

Every package covers South Dakota property wherever it is recorded. Pick by situation:

• Probate law firm: Find every property a decedent held, how it was vested and what has to be paid before it passes. $595 per estate.
• Real estate law firm: A preliminary report with schedule-style exceptions and print-ready exhibits for your matter. $695 per property.
• Builders and developers: Multi-parcel research on access, easements, restrictions, mineral reservations and entity ownership. $995 first parcel.
• Auction buyer: Know the total cost to own, which liens survive the sale and whether to bid at all. $395 for 1 property.
• Home buyer: Confirm the seller owns the home and learn what has to be cleared before you pay. $449 per property.
• Home seller: Find the old mortgage, judgment or name mismatch before a buyer's title company does. $449 per property.

Questions about South Dakota title research