Business licenses and permits in South Dakota

What applies everywhere in South Dakota

15 requirements are set by South Dakota itself and apply whichever city you open in. Local permits sit on top of them.

Sources

Every statewide figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

1. South Dakota Secretary of State — entity formation and annual report filing feesSouth Dakota Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
2. South Dakota Secretary of State — press release on House Bill 1024's $5 annual report fee increase, effective July 1, 2025South Dakota Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
3. South Dakota Department of Revenue — motor vehicle dealer licensing, triggered by selling vehicles rather than repairing themSouth Dakota Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
4. South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners — new barbershop application fee scheduleSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
5. South Dakota Board of Barber Examiners — barbershop renewal form, May 31 expiration and the inspection-fee statute quoted alongside a $150 inspection fee lineSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
6. South Dakota Cosmetology Commission — salon and booth permit fee and inspection requirementsSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
7. South Dakota Cosmetology Commission — salon and booth renewal fee and late penaltySouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
8. South Dakota Electrical Commission — license fee table and biennial expirationSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
9. South Dakota Department of Social Services — family day care registration, capacity threshold and two-year termSouth Dakota Department of Social Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
10. South Dakota Department of Health — food license application, fee table by seating capacitySouth Dakota Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
11. South Dakota Department of Health — food service manager training requirementSouth Dakota Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
12. South Dakota Department of Revenue — sales, use and contractor's excise tax licensing fact sheet, confirming no license feeSouth Dakota Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
13. South Dakota Plumbing Commission — plumbing contractor and plumber application feesSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
14. South Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners — full list of license and registration application types, with no premises permit among themSouth Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04

Which South Dakota city are you opening in?

• Aberdeen, SDAberdeen's Revised Ordinances Chapter 14 is titled Businesses and Business Regulations and, as published, is procedural rather than substantive: it sets out how licenses are applied for, granted and revoked without creating a general business license, and the Code's published chapter list has no food, salon, veterinary, fitness or auto repair chapter. What Aberdeen does license is specific. A day care operated in a residence needs a city license at $200.00 new and $100.00 renewing, each covering two years, plus a special exception from the Board of Adjustment — an obligation neither Sioux Falls nor Rapid City imposes in that form. A transient merchant pays $43.00 per day, $117.00 per week or $234.00 per month, with a $22.00 investigation fee and a $1,000.00 bond. Contractors are licensed by class: a residential contractor is $200.00 new and $150.00 renewing on a three-year term, a sewer and water contractor $300.00 with a $10,000.00 bond, a sidewalk contractor $150.00, an excavation license $210.00 and a sign hanging license $150.00 with a $10,000.00 bond. A sign permit is $50.00 and building permits run a valuation table from a $35.00 base. Zoning variances, special exceptions and appeals are $200.00 each and a rezoning is $250.00. Fire fees include $50.00 for fireworks, $100.00 for a pyrotechnic display and $120.00 for a tank permit. Food service is licensed by the South Dakota Department of Health. Sales tax is 2.00 percent general plus a 3.00 percent municipal gross receipts tax under §50-77.14 published records
• Rapid City, SDRapid City's own licensing page enumerates the business types the Finance Office licenses — adult oriented business, central station service, ice cream vendor, pawn and secondhand, refuse hauling, security, sidewalk vending, taxi, transportation network and alcohol-related business or event — and then states that 'If you DO NOT have one of these businesses, the Finance Office does not require you to have a business license through their office.' Food is not on that list: RCMC 8.32.020 requires only that a restaurant or grocery store comply with 'all applicable provisions of state law and county health regulations,' so the operative license is the statutory one under SDCL 34-18-11, an annual fee of $90.00 to $225.00 by seating capacity, with Pennington County a second layer. Street vending from a vehicle is prohibited by RCMC 5.48.010 and Chapter 5.48 contains no peddler license, leaving a food truck to operate on private property, at permitted events, or as a sidewalk vendor — a $100.00 annual license under §5.56.050 plus a Sidewalk Vendor Permit at $250.00 with a $100.00 annual renewal. A mobile ice cream vendor license under Chapter 5.50 is a $50.00 nonrefundable fee for a 24-month term with $1,000,000 public liability cover. The Development Application Fee Schedule prices a conditional use permit, a variance, a rezoning, an annexation and a final plat each at $250.00, a planned development designation at $50.00, a sidewalk café at $250.00 and tax increment financing at $2,500.00. Contractor licenses under §15.04.140, building permits and the kennel license under §6.08.050 are all set 'by resolution of the Common Council' rather than in the Code, and Resolution No. 2023-088 (effective January 1, 2024) supplies the amounts: a Class A general contractor license is $200.00 new and $100.00 to renew over three years, with the full trade-by-trade table recorded on the Rapid City contractor license record. Commercial building, gas, plumbing and sign permits are priced from Table 100-C by valuation, from $37.00 at the smallest projects up to $5,608.75 for the first $1,000,000.00 plus $3.15 per additional $1,000.00 above that; commercial plan review is fifty percent of the building permit fee and starting work without a permit doubles it. Electrical contractor and Class B electrician licenses run two years, expiring December 31 of even years with a 60-day grace period. A further fee resolution, No. 2024-106, was adopted at the end of 2024, effective February 1, 2025; it amends only Public Works Department landfill tipping fees, leaving every figure above unchanged. The Finance Office's license list names no salon, fitness studio or auto repair category, and §6.08.050 expressly exempts veterinary hospitals and clinics from the kennel license. Sales tax is 2.00 percent general plus a 1.00 percent municipal gross receipts tax on lodging, eating establishments, alcohol and admissions.14 published records
• Sioux Falls, SDThe City's Licensing page states that 'Not all businesses and professions need City licensing' and points to §110.026 for the complete list, which names no general business license; even so, Sioux Falls has a deeper local layer than Rapid City or Aberdeen, licensing food, registering childcare, licensing contractors and running its own fire license scheme, all administered by a Licensing Office sitting under the City Attorney. A food service establishment license runs January 1 to December 31 at $181.00 up to 2,500 square feet, $271.00 from 2,501 to 5,000 and $362.00 above, with $92.00 for each additional food preparation area, plan review at $52.00, $209.00 or $302.00 by the same bands, a $75.00 late fee and a $30.00 discount for an establishment averaging 94 percent or above on the prior year's routine inspections. A grocery store is $181.00 above 250 square feet and $92.00 at or below. Mobile food vending is $75.00 for the calendar year with $1,000,000 per occurrence insurance and inspection at least twice yearly, and a peddler license is $35.00. Family day care homes register with the city health department at $25.00 where the operator holds state registration and $125.00 where not, with a $50.00 late fee and $300,000 liability insurance. Contractor licenses are biennial or triennial: an electrical, mechanical or plumbing contractor is $200.00 new and $100.00 to renew, a journeyman $40.00, and a residential building contractor $300.00 new and $150.00 renewing every three years, with a $75.00 examination. Fire licenses under §110.033 include the annual inspection in the price — a repair garage is $46.00 up to four bays and $58.00 above — and §110.035 charges $28.00 where another license requires a fire inspection. Commercial building permits run a valuation table with plan review at twenty-five percent. The largest single figure is the full-service restaurant on-sale liquor license at $192,517.00 initially, set by statute at one dollar per resident, renewing at $1,500.00.14 published records

Is there a single South Dakota business license?

Who issues permits in South Dakota?

• South Dakota Secretary of State, Business ServicesEntity formation · Annual reports4 permits
• South Dakota Department of RevenueSales and contractor's excise tax licensing · Motor vehicle dealer licensing3 permits
• South Dakota Department of Health, Office of Health ProtectionFood service establishment licensing · Food service manager training2 permits
• South Dakota Board of Barber ExaminersBarber shop licensing1 permit
• South Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical ExaminersVeterinarian licensing1 permit
• South Dakota Cosmetology CommissionSalon and booth licensing1 permit
• South Dakota Department of Social Services, Office of Licensing and AccreditationChild care licensing and registration1 permit
• South Dakota Electrical CommissionElectrician and electrical contractor licensing1 permit
• South Dakota Plumbing CommissionPlumbing contractor and plumber licensing1 permit

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