The bottom line: To sell a car privately in South Dakota, sign the title over to the buyer and write the odometer reading on it. South Dakota also requires a bill of sale, so give the buyer a signed one (Form 1025). You need no notary, emissions test or safety inspection.
If the title is lost, get a duplicate first with Form 1002 ($10 plus a $2 technology fee). If a lender still holds a lien, you get the paper title only once the lien is released.
Take your plates off before the buyer drives away, because they stay with you. Then file the Seller Report of Sale (Form 1024) at the time of sale, online through my605drive or at your county treasurer’s office.
Check what the online buyers are offering before you list it.
- Sign the title over to the buyerOdometer reading: the odometer reading is recorded on the title at transfer; federal disclosure applies to vehicles model year 2011 or newer under 16,000 pounds.
- Write a bill of saleForm 1025 (Bill of Sale)
- Take your plates off the carRemove your plates before the buyer drives away, then transfer them to another vehicle you own
- File Form 1024 (Seller Report of Sale)At the time of sale. File the Report of Sale online through your my605drive account, or in person at your county treasurer's office. It helps protect you from liability for the car after the sale.
- Emissions test
- Safety inspection
- Notary on the title
- Notarized bill of sale
- Replacing a lost title
- $10, plus a $2 technology feeCan’t be ordered online; Form 1002 (Duplicate Title Application)
Automated assistant: general info, not legal advice
Answers come from our state paperwork data and published guides. Confirm anything binding with your state DMV.
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Step-by-Step Process for South Dakota
Step 1: Prepare Your South Dakota Paperwork
Documents you’ll need:
- Vehicle title – the South Dakota certificate, in your name, with any lien released
- Photo ID – yours, and a look at the buyer’s before money changes hands
- Lien release – only if a lender is still on the record
If your title is missing:
Apply for a replacement before you advertise: complete Form 1002 (Duplicate Title Application) and submit it in person or by mail to your county treasurer's office.
The fee is $10, plus a $2 technology fee.
How long it takes is not published by the department, so ask at the counter when you hand the form in.
A duplicate is not always possible.
Two routes exist for a car that never had a record: there is no exemption that lets a private seller transfer ownership without a title; the seller must first obtain a title, by duplicate if the title is lost, or under 32-3-64 if the vehicle is 11 model years or older with no existing record, or under 32-3-64.1 if it is older than 30 years with no record and no bill of sale.
A car older than thirty years also needs a surety bond of at least one and a half times its current value.
If you still owe money on the car:
The lienholder’s signature is what clears the loan off the record, and how that is done depends on the title: for a paper title the lienholder releases the lien on the title or provides a release; for an electronic lien held in the ELT system the lender releases it and the paper title is then issued.
Your lender has twenty days from the final payment to execute the release, and South Dakota charges nothing for it. Ask how long yours takes in practice before you list the car.
Electronic titles:
Step 2: Prepare Your Car
Clean it out, wash it, and put the service records in a folder the buyer can look through at the curb.
Run the VIN yourself, so a branded title is not news to you at the meeting.
Step 3: Price Your Car
Step 4: Advertise Your Car
Facebook Marketplace covers Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Aberdeen. Cars.com and Autotrader reach further, including across the line into Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota.
There is no testing required in South Dakota.
If the car is rough, Peddle and Wheelzy will buy it as it sits. Carvana is the one to try for a car under 10 years old in good condition.
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Offer amount 35% 5/5
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Process ease 20% 5/5
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Offer validity 15% 4/5
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Pickup / drop-off 15% 4/5
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Payment speed 15% 4/5
- Get a real offer online in 2 minutes
- Suits a car under 10 years old in good condition
- No haggling: its best offer comes upfront
- Pays off your loan when it buys the car
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
- Buys any car in any condition, running or not
- Free towing, with no fees taken off the offer
- You can cancel before pickup at no cost
- Pays by check on the spot at pickup
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
- Buys damaged cars, even ones that can't be driven
- The engine and transmission must still be in
- Free towing, included with every offer
- Picks up within 48 hours, sometimes the same day
Step 5: Meet with Buyers Safely
Meet in daylight, somewhere with cameras. A bank or supermarket parking lot works.
Go with someone. Ride along on the test drive, and see the buyer’s license before they take the wheel.
Step 6: Handle Payment and Negotiate
Get the money before you sign the title over. Ask the bank to confirm a cashier’s check while the buyer is still standing there.
The easiest version is meeting at the buyer’s bank and watching the funds move. Do not hand the car over for part of the money.
Decide your floor before the first call, and stop negotiating once you reach it.
Step 7: Complete the South Dakota Title Transfer and Seller’s Permit
Fill in the assignment on the back of the title: the buyer’s full name and address, the date, the price, and the odometer reading. Sign it yourself, and hand it to the buyer along with the bill of sale.
Title transfers are done at your local county treasurer's office.
Separate form: Form 1021 (Odometer Disclosure Statement), used when the title has no odometer space.
The seller’s permit:
South Dakota makes the seller give the buyer a free permit that covers the car until it is registered. Print it from the state’s Vehicle Registration and Plates portal, the one the DOR calls my605drive, or pick one up at a county treasurer’s office.
Do it before the buyer leaves. Without the permit the car they have just bought cannot legally be driven home, and failing to provide one is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Step 8: Sign Bill of Sale (Required)
The county treasurer needs the bill of sale in the buyer’s hands when they come in to title the car, which is why a bill of sale is required in South Dakota.
Use the state’s own form: Form 1025 (Bill of Sale).
Notarization is not required. Both of you sign it, you keep a copy, and the buyer takes the original.
Step 9: Handle South Dakota License Plates and Registration
The plates are the owner’s, not the car’s. They stay with you, and the buyer drives away with nothing on the car but the seller’s permit.
Then remove your plates before the buyer drives away, then transfer them to another vehicle you own.
Step 10: File the South Dakota Report of Sale
South Dakota calls this the seller’s report of sale, and it is the same thing other states call a release of liability. File the Report of Sale online through your my605drive account, or in person at your county treasurer's office.
When: at the time of sale.
Form: Form 1024 (Seller Report of Sale).
The statute says at the time of sale, so do it the day the car goes rather than the week after. The report is what tells the state the car is not yours any more.
Penalty: failing to file the report is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Step 11: Cancel Insurance
Cancel the policy once the title is signed, the plates are off and the report of sale is filed. Nothing on the list waits for the buyer to register the car.
Call the insurer rather than letting the policy lapse, and ask for the refund on the unused part of the term.
South Dakota Sale Checklist
Before the Sale
At the Sale
After the Sale
South Dakota DMV Resources
State Resources:
- List of All 50 State DMV Websites
- County treasurer offices handle vehicle titling and registration.
Phone Support:
- SD Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division: (605) 773-3541
South Dakota Fees and Costs
| What You Pay | Cost | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate title (if needed) | $10, plus a $2 technology fee | Before sale |
| Lien payoff (if applicable) | Loan balance | Before sale |
| Everything else | $0 | Buyer pays |
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Compare instant offers before you accept one
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sell a car without a title in South Dakota?
You can’t. A South Dakota sale needs a certificate of title, and the law is blunt about it: South Dakota requires a certificate of title to transfer ownership and selling without one is a Class 2 misdemeanor; an owner without a title must first obtain a duplicate, while a vehicle 11 years old or more with no existing title record may be titled with a bill of sale and affidavit under 32-3-64, and a vehicle older than 30 years with no record and no bill of sale may be titled with an affidavit and surety bond under 32-3-64.1.
If the title is simply lost, that is a duplicate application rather than an exception, and step 1 has the route.
How long does the buyer have to register the car after I sell it in South Dakota?
The penalty clock starts on the day of purchase and runs for 45 days from the date of purchase.
After that the buyer owes interest of 1% or $5 per month (whichever is greater) after 45 days, plus a one-time penalty of 10% of the tax or $10 (whichever is greater) after 60 days.
That is the buyer’s bill, not yours. The seller’s permit runs out on the same day.
Do I need to get the title notarized when I sign it over in South Dakota?
No witness is needed either, and the county treasurer will not ask for one.
Does the seller pay any tax when selling a car in South Dakota?
No. The motor vehicle excise tax is the buyer’s to pay, at the county treasurer’s office in the county where the buyer lives.
You write the price on the title and on the bill of sale, and that figure is what the tax is worked out from.
My car was inherited. What additional South Dakota forms do I need?
Which forms you need turns on whether the estate was probated: Form 1013 (Succession Affidavit) for a non-probated estate, or Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration if the estate is probated.
Estate value limit: $100,000, the value of the entire estate less liens and encumbrances, for collection by affidavit under SDCL 29A-3-1201
Article Update History
Every rule on this page now comes from the South Dakota Department of Revenue and the state's vehicle statutes.
Every requirement checked against the South Dakota Department of Revenue.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"not required" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
"$10, plus a $2 technology fee" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Bill of Sale Notarization Required?
"not required" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Replacement Title Processing Time
"not published by the department" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Conditions to Sell Without Title
"there is no exemption that lets a private seller transfer ownership without a title; the seller must first obtain a title, by duplicate if the title is lost, or under 32-3-64 if the vehicle is 11 model years or older with no existing record, or under 32-3-64.1 if it is older than 30 years with no record and no bill of sale" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
"for a paper title the lienholder releases the lien on the title or provides a release; for an electronic lien held in the ELT system the lender releases it and the paper title is then issued" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
"the odometer reading is recorded on the title at transfer; federal disclosure applies to vehicles model year 2011 or newer under 16,000 pounds" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Release of Liability Form Name
"Form 1024 (Seller Report of Sale)" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Title Transfer Form
"Form 1013 (Succession Affidavit) for a non-probated estate, or Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration if the estate is probated" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Estate Value Threshold
"$100,000, the value of the entire estate less liens and encumbrances, for collection by affidavit under SDCL 29A-3-1201" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Electronic Title Handling Note
"Titles with an active lien are held electronically and the paper title is issued once the lien is released. Since July 1, 2026 dealers can file title applications electronically through approved third-party providers, and an online private-party transfer option is being added to my605drive; the state continues to print paper titles" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
"required" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Release of Liability Filing Deadline
"at the time of sale" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
"yes" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Title Replacement Available Online?
"no" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
Buyer Registration Deadline After Sale
"45 days from the date of purchase" Accessed Sep. 19, 2026
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