Firearm law reference

South Dakota Gun Laws: Complete Guide

A practical overview of South Dakota firearm laws affecting private transfers, purchases, carrying, transportation, storage, and ownership.

Permitless carry does not eliminate prohibited-person, under-eighteen, school, courthouse, tribal, federal, or private-property restrictions. Optional permit tiers have different checks, training, and reciprocity benefits.

South Dakota Gun Law Quick Facts

Start with the three rules most people need. The full comparison table covers the remaining purchase, carry, ownership, and restriction topics.

Minimum purchase age: 18-21 depending on firearm and seller
A federally licensed dealer must sell a handgun to someone twenty-one or older but can sell a rifle or shotgun to someone eighteen or older; state pistol and minor-transfer provisions also apply. See the handgun and rifle/shotgun comparison table below for the full breakdown. [1][21]
Permitless concealed carry: Yes, age 18+ if eligible
A person at least eighteen who may lawfully possess a pistol may generally carry it concealed without a South Dakota permit. [2][1]
Open carry: Generally legal
An eligible person may generally openly carry a firearm without a permit, subject to restricted places and conduct laws. [1][3]

Swipe horizontally to read the full table.

Law	Status	What it means
Private sale background check	Not generally required	South Dakota does not generally require a background check for an occasional lawful intrastate private transfer, but prohibited-person rules apply. [1][20]
FFL required for private transfers	Generally no	An ordinary intrastate private transfer generally need not use an FFL; interstate transfers ordinarily require dealer routing. [1][20]
Purchase permit	No general requirement	South Dakota does not require a general permit before acquiring an ordinary firearm. [1]
Waiting period	No state waiting period	South Dakota imposes no separate waiting period after a lawful sale is approved. [1][22]
Firearm registration	Government registry generally prohibited	State agencies and political subdivisions generally may not keep registries of privately owned firearms, owners, or permit holders, subject to statutory exceptions. [1]
Firearm owner license	No general requirement	No recurring state license is generally required merely to own an ordinary firearm. [1]
Concealed pistol permit	Optional; three tiers	Sheriffs issue optional regular, gold card, and enhanced permits with differing background checks, training, purchase-check, and reciprocity benefits. [1][4]
Vehicle carry	Generally allowed	An eligible adult may generally carry a pistol openly or concealed in a vehicle without a permit, subject to restricted-property, tribal, and hunting rules. [2][1]
Magazine capacity	No state limit	South Dakota imposes no general magazine-capacity limit. [3][5]
Assault weapons	No state ban	South Dakota has no general assault-weapon ban for commonly owned semiautomatic firearms. [3][5]
NFA firearms	Generally federally regulated	NFA firearms are generally lawful when all federal requirements and applicable South Dakota weapon provisions are satisfied. [3][23]
Extreme risk protection orders	No general state law	South Dakota has no general extreme risk firearm protection order process. [3]
Safe storage	No universal mandate	South Dakota has no general locking mandate for every firearm in a private home, though minor and prohibited-person access remains relevant. [1][3]
Lost or stolen reporting	No general state deadline	South Dakota imposes no general statewide deadline on an ordinary owner to report a lost or stolen firearm. [1]
State preemption	Broad	South Dakota broadly limits county and municipal firearm regulation, while preserving authority consistent with state law and control over discharge or property in specified circumstances. [5]
Bill of sale	Not generally required	A bill of sale is not generally required for a lawful occasional intrastate private transfer, though it cannot cure an illegal transfer. [1][20]
Castle doctrine / no duty to retreat	Yes, with conditions	A person lawfully in their dwelling or residence may stand their ground and use force, including deadly force, without retreating, and is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm when someone unlawfully or forcibly entered or was entering it. [17][18]

Handgun and Rifle/Shotgun Rules in South Dakota

South Dakota law treats handguns differently from rifles and shotguns in a few specific places, mainly around dealer age minimums and the permitless-carry statute's wording. Topics not listed here, such as private-sale background checks or the felony-possession bar, apply the same way to both firearm types.

Topic	Handguns	Rifles & shotguns
Minimum age to buy from a licensed dealer	21	18 [21]
Minimum age to buy ammunition from a dealer	21 for handgun ammunition	18 for rifle or shotgun ammunition [21]
Carrying concealed without a permit	Allowed for an eligible person 18 or older under Section 23-7-7, South Dakota's permitless-carry statute	Section 23-7-7 is written specifically around pistols; it does not itself regulate concealing a rifle or shotgunOpen carry of either firearm type is generally allowed without a permit, subject to restricted-location and conduct rules. [2][1]

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Private Sales and Transfers

Quick answer

An ordinary lawful intrastate private transfer generally needs neither an FFL nor a state background check. [1][20]

Verify identity, residency, age, and eligibility. Transfers to prohibited people and unlicensed dealing remain illegal, and interstate transfers ordinarily require an FFL. [1][20]
A seller may not knowingly sell, give, loan, or otherwise furnish a firearm or ammunition to anyone under eighteen the seller knows or reasonably believes intends to use it in a violent crime, a Class 5 felony. Knowingly arming a felon or other person the seller knows is barred from possession is separately prohibited under the general possession statutes. [11][3]

Check identity and eligibility before transfer. [1]
Use an FFL for interstate or uncertain transfers. [20]
Do not knowingly furnish a firearm to a minor or a person barred from possession. [11][3]

Important notice: South Dakota has no state form or process that legalizes a transfer to someone the seller knows or reasonably believes is a prohibited recipient. [11][20]

Buying a Firearm

No state purchase permit, waiting period, or owner registry applies. Dealers conduct federal checks and apply age rules; certain permit tiers may qualify as alternatives under federal dealer-check rules. [1][4][22][21]
A current, unexpired South Dakota gold card or enhanced permit already reflects a NICS-equivalent background check, so a dealer may treat it as proof the buyer passed a check and complete the sale without re-running NICS. A regular permit does not carry this benefit, and any permit can still be denied, suspended, or revoked based on later-discovered disqualifying conduct. [4][22]

Federal dealer minimums are generally eighteen for rifles and shotguns and twenty-one for handguns, frames, and receivers. [21]
A gold card or enhanced permit can shorten a dealer transaction by standing in for the NICS check; it is not itself a purchase permit. [4]

Ownership and Prohibited Persons

South Dakota has no general owner license or ERPO statute. State and federal possession disqualifications remain enforceable, and restoration is fact-specific. [3][22]
A conviction for a crime of violence or specified drug felony bars possession under state law, but the bar is not automatically permanent. It lifts on its own once the person has been discharged from prison, jail, probation, or parole for more than fifteen years for the violent-crime and listed drug-felony bar, or more than five years for the narrower drug-conviction bar, without a new disqualifying offense in the meantime. A qualifying misdemeanor domestic-violence conviction instead bars possession for one year, after which state civil rights restore automatically or a court may restore them earlier on petition. [7][8]
These state timelines run independently of federal law. Federal prohibited-person status under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) can still apply after a South Dakota disability lapses, so a person with a felony or qualifying domestic-violence record should confirm federal eligibility, not just the state fifteen-year, five-year, or one-year clock, before acquiring or possessing a firearm. [7][22]

Track the exact discharge date from prison, jail, probation, or parole; the state clock runs from that date, not the conviction date. [8]
A new disqualifying offense during the waiting period can reset or extend the bar. [7]

Concealed and Open Carry

Eligible adults may generally carry openly or concealed without a permit. Optional regular, gold card, and enhanced permits offer differing reciprocity and background-check benefits, with enhanced training required for the enhanced tier. [2][1][4]
A sheriff must issue a permit to an eligible applicant who is at least eighteen, a county resident for at least thirty days, a U.S. citizen or legal resident, not a fugitive, not habitually intoxicated or drug-dependent, without a disqualifying violent-crime or felony conviction, without a relevant mental-health commitment in the prior ten years, and clear on the state and NICS background checks. A denial can be appealed through the circuit court. [12]
The three tiers differ mainly in cost, renewal timing, and what they unlock. A regular permit satisfies reciprocity in states that recognize it. A gold card permit adds the NICS-equivalent purchase benefit described above and a five-year term. An enhanced permit requires a certified handgun course within the twelve months before applying, is recognized by additional reciprocity states, and is the only tier that lets a holder carry concealed in the state capitol (outside the Supreme Court chamber and other controlled offices) with advance notice to the Highway Patrol, or carry concealed in a public school with the principal's written authorization if the holder is at least twenty-one. [4][9][10]

South Dakota does not issue nonresident permits but recognizes any other state's valid carry permit for a nonresident visiting or passing through. [4]
Holding more than one permit tier at the same time is allowed, so a resident can add an enhanced permit later for its added privileges without giving up an existing gold card permit. [4]

Self-Defense and the Castle Doctrine in South Dakota

Quick answer

A person lawfully in a place they have a right to be has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, and a person lawfully in their own dwelling or residence may stand their ground and use deadly force, benefiting from a presumption of reasonable fear if someone unlawfully or forcibly entered or was entering. A criminal-law justification is not automatically a shield against a civil lawsuit. [15][17]

The South Dakota Constitution, Article VI, Section 24, provides that the right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be denied. [14]
Section 22-18-4 justifies using or threatening non-deadly force against another person when the actor reasonably believes it is necessary to defend against the other's imminent unlawful force, and states that a person acting under this section has no duty to retreat first. Section 22-18-4.1 separately justifies deadly force when the actor reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another, or to prevent a forcible felony. [15][16]
Section 22-18-4.2 lets a person lawfully in their own dwelling or residence stand their ground, without a duty to retreat, and use force or deadly force under the same reasonable-belief standards. Section 22-18-4.3 adds a presumption that the person held a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily harm when the defensive force was used against someone who was unlawfully or forcibly entering, or had unlawfully or forcibly entered, the dwelling, residence, or an occupied vehicle, or was unlawfully removing another person from one of those places, and the defender knew or reasonably believed that was happening. [17][18]

Important notice: Section 22-18-4.8 goes further than many states: a person whose use or threatened use of force is justified under this chapter is generally immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability for that conduct, with a prevailing civil defendant entitled to recover attorney's fees, court costs, lost income, and expenses. That immunity does not apply against a law enforcement officer who identified themselves and was acting in an official capacity, or where the person using force knew or reasonably should have known they were confronting one. Immunity also only follows a finding that the force was actually justified, so a self-defense claim that fails on the facts does not carry this protection, and every self-defense situation is fact-specific and high-stakes. Get individualized legal advice before relying on any of this content in an actual confrontation. [19]

Transportation and Vehicles

Eligible adults may generally carry pistols in vehicles. School, courthouse, tribal, federal, and hunting rules remain separate; federal safe passage may protect qualifying interstate transport. [1][3][24]
A vehicle parked on public elementary or secondary school property is treated as school premises for firearm purposes, but a person with a valid permit may keep a pistol secured in the vehicle or lawfully retrieve and secure it, an exception that does not apply to someone carrying without a permit while at a school. [10]
For a qualifying interstate trip through South Dakota, the federal safe-passage provision can protect a traveler who is otherwise complying with the law at both the origin and destination if the firearm is unloaded and, along with any ammunition, not readily accessible from the passenger compartment. This is a narrower rule than South Dakota's own permitless-carry law and should not be relied on for carrying loaded or accessible within the state itself. [24]

Restricted Firearms and Magazines

South Dakota has no general magazine limit or assault-weapon ban. NFA firearms remain subject to federal approval, registration, and transfer requirements plus applicable state weapon law. [3][23]
State law separately criminalizes possessing certain weapons, such as a machine gun or short-barreled shotgun, outside a lawful purpose, but does not add a state permit, tax, or registration on top of the federal NFA process. Once a suppressor, short-barreled rifle or shotgun, or other NFA item clears the federal application, tax-stamp, and transfer steps, ordinary possession and carry follow the same permitless-carry and restricted-location rules as any other firearm. [3][23]
Committing or attempting a felony while armed with a firearm, including a machine gun or short shotgun, carries an enhanced, non-probationable minimum sentence in South Dakota, five years for a first offense and ten years for a later one, served consecutively to the sentence for the underlying felony. A valid tax stamp or permit is not a defense to this enhancement. [3]

Safe Storage and Reporting

No universal home-locking mandate or general owner reporting deadline applies. Secure storage and prompt voluntary loss or theft reporting remain prudent. [1][3]
The absence of a universal locking law does not remove liability for knowingly furnishing a firearm to a minor who intends to use it violently, or for knowingly arming someone the owner knows is barred from possession; both remain felonies regardless of how the firearm was stored beforehand. [11][3]

Store firearms and ammunition so a minor or other unauthorized person cannot access them. [11]
Report a lost or stolen firearm to local law enforcement promptly, even without a state deadline, to create a record and flag the serial number. [1]

Restricted Locations and Private Property

Firearms are restricted in elementary and secondary schools, courthouses, correctional and federal facilities, and other listed places. Enhanced permits create only specific exceptions, such as limited state-capitol and school access described above. [3][1][9][10]
Any firearm or other dangerous weapon in a county courthouse or the state capitol is a Class 1 misdemeanor unless a listed exception applies, such as official law-enforcement or court duties, a hunter- or gun-safety course, or an enhanced permit holder who gives the Highway Patrol superintendent twenty-four hours' notice before carrying concealed in the capitol outside restricted chambers and offices. A concealed permit alone is not a defense to the courthouse restriction. [9]
South Dakota repealed its former ban on carrying a concealed pistol in a licensed on-sale malt-beverage or alcoholic-beverage establishment effective July 1, 2025, so bars and similar businesses are no longer automatically off-limits under state law. A business can still exclude firearms on its own through posted signage or a direct request to leave, and refusing to comply can lead to criminal trespass. [13]

Do not rely on a permit to carry in a county courthouse or the state capitol; check the specific statutory exception first. [9]
A private landowner or business can still lawfully exclude firearms even where state law imposes no location-specific ban. [13][3]

State Preemption and Local Rules

South Dakota broadly preempts local firearm regulation. Valid discharge, zoning, government-property, tribal, and federal rules can still affect conduct at a particular location. [5]
The preemption is written in nearly identical terms for counties and municipalities: neither may pass an ordinance that restricts, prohibits, taxes, or imposes a licensing requirement or fee on the possession, storage, transportation, purchase, sale, transfer, ownership, manufacture, or repair of firearms, ammunition, or their components. A conflicting ordinance is void, and both statutes preserve only generally applicable zoning, building, and fire-code authority that is not used to work around the ban. [5][6]
Enforcement runs through the Attorney General rather than private lawsuits alone: the office must send a cease-and-desist order to a noncompliant county or municipality and may sue for an injunction if it does not comply. A person charged under a void local ordinance can also recover reasonable costs, expenses, and attorney's fees. [5][6]

Before Completing a Private Firearm Sale in South Dakota

Verify identity, residency, age, and eligibility before a private transfer. [1][20]
Confirm age eighteen and lawful possession before relying on permitless carry. [2][1]
Choose the permit tier matching desired reciprocity and purchase-check benefits. [4][1]
Check school, courthouse, tribal, and federal restrictions, plus any posted private property, before carrying. [3][9][10]
Complete federal compliance before receiving an NFA firearm. [23]
Store firearms securely and keep serial-number records separately. [1]

Official South Dakota Firearm Law Resources

Firearms Control Code

Permits, registry limits, sales, minors, and carry provisions.

South Dakota Legislature

Permitless Carry Statute

Optional permits and unlicensed pistol carry.

South Dakota Legislature

Concealed Pistol Permits

Regular, gold card, enhanced, and reciprocity information.

South Dakota Secretary of State

Weapons Offenses

Restricted conduct and locations.

South Dakota Legislature

Firearm Preemption

Limits on county firearm ordinances.

South Dakota Legislature

Municipal Firearm Preemption

Parallel limits on city firearm ordinances and enforcement.

South Dakota Legislature

Felon and Drug-Conviction Possession Bars

Fifteen-year, five-year, and one-year possession disabilities and their lapse.

South Dakota Legislature

Firearms on School Premises

School-carry prohibition and its listed exceptions.

South Dakota Legislature

South Dakota Constitution, Article VI, Section 24

State constitutional right to bear arms in self-defense.

South Dakota Legislature

Section 22-18-4.1, Deadly Force--Defense

Justification standard for using deadly force in self-defense or defense of others.

South Dakota Legislature

Section 22-18-4.2, Defense of Dwelling or Residence

Stand-your-ground rule and force justification for a person in their own dwelling or residence.

South Dakota Legislature

Section 22-18-4.8, Immunity--Burden of Proof

Civil and criminal immunity for justified force, with the law-enforcement-officer exception.

South Dakota Legislature

National Firearms Act

Federal requirements for NFA firearms.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

South Dakota Gun Law FAQ

Are background checks required for private gun sales in South Dakota?

Not generally for an occasional lawful intrastate transfer, but prohibited-person and federal interstate rules apply.

[1][20]

How old do you have to be to buy a gun in South Dakota?

It depends on the firearm and seller. A federally licensed dealer cannot sell a handgun to someone under twenty-one or a rifle or shotgun to someone under eighteen; separate state provisions bar knowingly furnishing a firearm to a minor for violent use.

[21][11]

Do you need a permit to buy a gun in South Dakota?

No general state purchase permit is required.

[1]

Can you carry concealed without a permit in South Dakota?

Generally yes if you are at least eighteen and may lawfully possess the pistol.

[2][1]

Is open carry legal in South Dakota?

Generally yes for an eligible person, subject to restricted places and conduct rules.

[3][1]

Can you carry a handgun in a vehicle in South Dakota?

Generally yes if legally eligible, but school, courthouse, tribal, federal, and hunting rules can change the result.

[1][3]

Does South Dakota have a waiting period?

No separate state waiting period applies after a lawful sale is approved.

[1][22]

Does South Dakota limit magazines or ban assault weapons?

No general state magazine limit or assault-weapon ban applies.

[3][5]

Are suppressors legal in South Dakota?

Generally yes when all federal NFA and applicable state requirements are satisfied.

[3][23]

Does South Dakota have a red flag law?

South Dakota has no general extreme risk firearm protection order statute.

[3]

Is a bill of sale required for a private gun sale in South Dakota?

No general bill of sale is required, though documenting a lawful transfer is prudent.

[1][20]

What is the difference between South Dakota's regular, gold card, and enhanced permits?

A regular permit supports basic reciprocity. A gold card permit adds a five-year term and a NICS-equivalent purchase benefit at dealers. An enhanced permit requires certified handgun training, unlocks additional reciprocity states, and allows limited concealed carry in the state capitol and, with principal approval, in a public school.

[4][9][10]

Does South Dakota have a castle doctrine?

Yes. A person lawfully in their own dwelling or residence may stand their ground and use force, including deadly force, without retreating, and is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm if someone unlawfully or forcibly entered or was entering. Justified force also carries civil and criminal immunity, with narrow exceptions for a law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity.

[17][18][19]

Can you carry a gun in a bar in South Dakota?

Yes. South Dakota repealed its ban on carrying a concealed pistol in licensed alcohol establishments effective July 1, 2025, though an individual business may still exclude firearms through posted signage or a direct request to leave.

[13]

Do felony firearm rights ever come back in South Dakota?

Yes, for many convictions. The state possession bar generally lifts automatically fifteen years after discharge from prison, jail, probation, or parole for a violent crime or listed drug felony, five years for the narrower drug-conviction bar, and one year for a qualifying misdemeanor domestic-violence conviction. Federal prohibitions can still apply independently.

[7][8]

Sources

Educational information only, not legal advice.

GunList does not provide legal advice and does not guarantee that this guide covers every law, exception, court ruling, or local ordinance. Laws and court orders can change quickly. Verify current requirements through official government sources or consult a qualified attorney before possessing, carrying, buying, selling, or transporting a firearm, or before relying on any self-defense or castle-doctrine provision.

Reading or using this guide does not create an attorney-client relationship with GunList, and GunList disclaims liability for any loss or harm arising from reliance on this content. A criminal-law justification for using force does not guarantee protection from civil liability; use-of-force outcomes are fact-specific and high-stakes, so consult a qualified attorney before acting.