South Dakota licensing
How to Get a South Dakota Real Estate License
South Dakota eligibility and application rules - minimum age, pre-licensing education, association with a broker, good moral character, background check, and more - each cited to the South Dakota Real Estate Commission and dated.
Published by Freehold · First published 2026-08-11 · Sources last verified 2026-08-17 · Review method
Your licensing route
From eligibility to an active license
Exact order can vary by state process. Each state-specific rule appears below with its source.
- 01Confirm eligibility
Check age and any residency, education, or background conditions.
- 02Complete approved education
Use the regulator's approved-provider list where one is published.
- 03Apply and take the exam
Follow South Dakota's application order, then sit the configured salesperson exam.
- 04Activate your license
Complete any sponsorship or initial-license step that South Dakota requires.
| Requirement | South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Pre-licensing education | 116-hour prelicensing course |
| Association with a broker | Required to conduct business |
| Good moral character | Reputable character, plus a clean money record |
| Background check | Fingerprints, state and federal |
| Course content rule | Courses expire after two years |
| Exam registration | Finish the course before you register |
| Time limit | 60 days after passing |
| Application sequence | Exam first, sworn application second |
| License activation | Errors and omissions insurance |
| New salesperson postlicense education | 60 more hours, 30 then 30 |
| Reciprocity | State portion only |
| Exam provider | PSI |
Requirements change. Confirm with the South Dakota Real Estate Commission before enrolling or paying anything.
More on what counts as real estate school, state by state.
Each requirement, and where it comes from
Minimum age
In addition to the education and exam requirements for each license type, South Dakota requires every applicant to be at least 18 years old and either a U.S. citizen or a South Dakota resident.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - License Types and Requirements, License Types and Requirements — verified 2026-08-11
Pre-licensing education
South Dakota's entry-level license is called Broker Associate rather than salesperson, and applicants must complete a 116-hour prelicensing course and pass the licensing exam with a passing score of 75.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - License Types and Requirements, License Types and Requirements — verified 2026-08-11
Association with a broker
Upon issuing the license, South Dakota requires the new salesperson or Broker Associate to associate with a broker before conducting any business authorized by that license, under the state's real estate licensing law.
Source: South Dakota Codified Law 36-21A - License Law Book, 36-21A-44. Issuance of license to successful applicant -- Association with broker -- Authority to conduct business — verified 2026-08-11
Good moral character
A license goes only to a person of reputable character competent to transact business so as to safeguard the public. An earlier rejected application bars a new one for a year, unless the rejection was only for failing the exam, and a revoked license anywhere bars an application for five years. The commission may also deny for a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, insufficient funds checks written in the year before applying, a current unpaid judgment, or deliberate misstatements in the application.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), SDCL 36-21A-30. Reputation, age, competence, and citizenship required for license, and 36-21A-33. Denial of application — verified 2026-08-17
Background check
Every applicant for a broker license must submit to a state and federal criminal background investigation by fingerprint check through the Division of Criminal Investigation and the FBI, and the result must be back before the license issues. The applicant pays the cost. This reaches the entry-level license too: South Dakota defines a broker associate as a broker acting under a responsible broker. Refusing to submit or cooperate is itself grounds to deny the application.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), SDCL 36-21A-151. Applicants and licensees under disciplinary investigation - Criminal background check, and 36-21A-1(5) — verified 2026-08-17
Course content rule
An applicant for a license by examination must show the required education was successfully completed within the two years before the date of application. The 116 class hours may be taken in a classroom course, or in an independent study or distance education course, but the instructor and the course must both be commission-approved.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), ARSD 20:69:03:02. Proof of education to accompany application, and SDCL 36-21A-30.1 — verified 2026-08-17
Exam registration
A person registering for the real estate examination must have completed the prerequisite education before submitting the registration, and may not sit the exam without both. The passing score is 75. A registered candidate who does not appear in person as scheduled forfeits the examination fee and must register all over again.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), ARSD 20:69:03:04, 20:69:03:04.01, 20:69:03:05 and 20:69:03:07. Licensing and Licenses — verified 2026-08-17
Time limit
After written notice that the exam is passed, the application and every required document must reach the commission within sixty days of the notice date. Miss it and the registration and all rights deriving from the passing score are canceled outright, which means sitting the examination again.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), SDCL 36-21A-36.1. Application for license - Time limit — verified 2026-08-17
Application sequence
No person may be licensed until qualified by examination, so the exam comes before the application rather than after it. The application itself is on commission forms and must be verified on oath or affirmation under penalty of perjury, and proof of the passing score is filed with it.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), SDCL 36-21A-35 and 36-21A-41, and ARSD 20:69:03:02.01 — verified 2026-08-17
License activation
Carrying errors and omissions insurance covering all activities under the chapter is a condition of licensure for every licensee except those holding an inactive license. The commission makes group coverage available, and a licensee may instead buy independent coverage that meets the terms the commission sets.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), SDCL 36-21A-119 and 36-21A-120. Errors and omissions insurance required — verified 2026-08-17
New salesperson postlicense education
A broker associate first licensed after June 30, 2009 must complete sixty further class hours in prescribed subject matter by the second active renewal deadline, split thirty hours in the initial licensing period and thirty in the second. Those hours also count toward the continuing education needed to renew, so they are not paid for twice.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), SDCL 36-21A-30.2. Education requirements for initial licensure as broker associate — verified 2026-08-17
Reciprocity
An applicant who holds an active license in another state and passed that state's real estate licensing examination may obtain a similar level of South Dakota license by passing only the state portion of the South Dakota examination. A nonresident salesperson who then moves to South Dakota must upgrade to a broker associate license before the current license expires, by completing forty hours of prescribed education and filing a broker associate application.
Source: South Dakota Real Estate Commission - Real Estate License Law Book (SDCL 36-21A and ARSD 20:69), SDCL 36-21A-43. Examination reciprocity with other states, and 36-21A-34.1 — verified 2026-08-17
Exam provider
South Dakota's real estate exam is administered by PSI.
Source: PSI — South Dakota Real Estate Candidate Bulletin (SDRE), EXAMINATION SUMMARY TABLE — verified 2026-07-27
Once you are eligible
The South Dakota salesperson exam is 142 questions in 270 minutes, administered by PSI. Practice it free: South Dakota practice test · South Dakota exam prep · South Dakota broker exam · compare all 50 states
New to the whole process? How to become a real estate agent walks the five steps and what changes between states.
South Dakota licensing FAQ
How do you get a real estate license in South Dakota?
Meet South Dakota's eligibility rules, complete 116-hour prelicensing course, apply to the regulator, and pass the salesperson exam. On association with a broker, South Dakota's rule is: Required to conduct business. Each requirement is set out below with the provision it comes from.
What are the requirements for a South Dakota real estate license?
South Dakota requires you to be 18 or older and to complete 116-hour prelicensing course before sitting the salesperson exam, which is 142 questions in 270 minutes. Every figure on this page names the South Dakota Real Estate Commission page it came from and the date we checked it.
How much pre-licensing education does South Dakota require?
South Dakota's entry-level license is called Broker Associate rather than salesperson, and applicants must complete a 116-hour prelicensing course and pass the licensing exam with a passing score of 75.
Association with a broker — what does South Dakota require?
Upon issuing the license, South Dakota requires the new salesperson or Broker Associate to associate with a broker before conducting any business authorized by that license, under the state's real estate licensing law.
How do you become a real estate agent in South Dakota?
Becoming an agent in South Dakota is the license plus one more step: complete 116-hour prelicensing course, pass the 142-question salesperson exam, and then satisfy South Dakota's rule on association with a broker — Required to conduct business. A license you hold and a license you can practice under are not the same thing, and the difference is set out above with its source.
Nearby states
Licensing in more than one state? Each state's license requirements covers its own license law.
North Dakota · Minnesota · Iowa · Nebraska · Wyoming · Montana
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