Record Search
South Dakota provides electronic searches of court records.
Criminal Record Search
A criminal case is a case filed by the state against a person for violation of a crime, and if found guilty,
the person may face jail time or prison. Criminal cases are available, unless sealed, via UJS’
Public Access Record System (PARS) from 1989 to present. For cases prior to 1989, records must be requested
directly from the Clerk of Court office for the county in which the case was filed. View the list of
Clerk of Court offices in South Dakota.
PARS reflects the docket entries in criminal and protection orders. Searches can be conducted by entering a person’s last name
and date of birth.
There is $20 fee for each search submitted. The fee is charged when the search is submitted and applies regardless of whether the search returns any records.
There are two payment options:
1. You can pay as you go for each search with a credit card using the “Search as Guest” option. Conduct a record search via
PARS.
2. For multiple record searches, you can request to establish a drawdown account by contacting
UJS support.
Civil Judgment Record Search
A civil case happens when one person, business or agency sues another one because of a dispute between them, usually involving money or property.
Civil cases, unless confidential or sealed, are available from 2003 to present. Active civil money judgments are available for the past 20 years,
and inactive civil money judgments are available from April 19, 2004, to present.
Civil money judgment searches can be conducted for a fee.
1. You can pay as you go to retrieve judgments by name and date. Conduct a
civil judgment query.
2. You can set up a subscription account for the civil money judgment system by contacting
UJS support.
Record Inquiry and Search Request Form
For both criminal and civil record inquiries and searches, you can submit a
request form. For questions about the form,
contact
UJS support.
Case Summary Information Search
UJS’s eCourts provides only summary information about court cases. This includes information such as names of parties, attorneys of record, documents filed,
hearings held, judgments entered, and the outcome of completed cases. Court documents cannot be viewed or purchased via eCourts. To access summary information about a case, visit
eCourts.
Record Search Via Clerk of Court Office
The majority of court records can be accessed from public kiosk terminals at each courthouse and printed at 20 cents a page.
To search for older case files that may not be scanned into UJS’ system, contact the Clerk of Court office for the county
in which the case was held. View the list of
Clerk of Court offices in South Dakota.
Bulk Court Records Requests
Dissemination of bulk court record information for resale is prohibited pursuant to § 1-27-1.
Any other bulk dissemination is prohibited except as authorized by the State Court Administrator or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
SDCL 15-15A-11
Any member of the public may request compiled information that consists solely of information that is publicly accessible
and that is not already available in an existing report. The Supreme Court may compile and provide the information if it
determines, in its discretion, that providing the information meets criteria established by the Court, that the resources
are available to compile the information and that it is an appropriate use of public resources. The State Court Administrator's
Office will make the initial determination as to whether to provide the compiled information. See SDCL
SDCL 15-15A-12. To make a bulk court record request, contact the
State Court Administrator’s Office.
* Juvenile cases are closed (confidential) cases, and the information cannot be released to the public. A juvenile case will not appear in a record search.