How to Get a Death Certificate in South Dakota
From Everendium · Last reviewed October 17, 2026
This guide covers South Dakota. For the general overview, see Getting Death Certificates: How Many You'll Need and Why.
Quick answer
In South Dakota, certified death certificates are issued by the South Dakota Department of Health's Vital Records office in Pierre and the county Registers of Deeds. South Dakota charges $15 for each certified or informational copy, and the fee is required before any search. If no record is found, the fee is kept and you receive a Notification of Records Searched. Online and phone orders through VitalChek add a $6.50 VitalChek fee and a $5 expedite fee for regular mail, $11.50 in all.
Getting a death certificate is one of the first practical steps after a death in South Dakota, and the details of who issues it and what it costs are specific to South Dakota.
Who issues death certificates in South Dakota?
Certified copies come from the South Dakota Department of Health’s Vital Records office in Pierre and the county Registers of Deeds. In practice, the funeral home usually files the certificate and orders an initial batch of certified copies for you.
How much does a certified copy cost in South Dakota?
South Dakota charges $15 for each certified or informational copy, and the fee is required before any search. If no record is found, the fee is kept and you receive a Notification of Records Searched. Online and phone orders through VitalChek add a $6.50 VitalChek fee and a $5 expedite fee for regular mail, $11.50 in all.
Who can order a copy in South Dakota?
Certified copies may be issued to the registrant’s spouse, children, parents, guardian, next of kin, or authorized representative. Anyone else who submits an application, identification, and the fee can get an informational copy instead.
How do I order more copies in South Dakota?
- In person: at the State Office, 221 West Capitol Avenue, Pierre, or at any South Dakota Register of Deeds, paying with a money order.
- By mail: to the State Office or any Register of Deeds, with the application signed in front of a notary or with a clear copy of a photo ID, plus a check or money order payable to the South Dakota Department of Health.
- Online or by phone: through VitalChek, the only authorized third-party vendor. State office phone: (605) 773-4961.
What else should I know before I order?
The department lists fee waivers for certain military, Head Start, and school enrollment uses on its fees page.
What should I do next?
Confirm with the funeral home how many copies it is ordering for you, then decide how many more you need; see how many death certificates you need in South Dakota and our general guide to death certificates.
Add this to your Final Day Plan: your Social Security number, birthplace, and parents’ full names - the death certificate application asks for these, and they’re often surprisingly hard for a family to track down under pressure.
Fees and rules change - confirm current details with the South Dakota Department of Health or a Register of Deeds before you send payment.
Sources
- South Dakota Department of Health - Vital Records Fees ($15 per copy; expedite fee; waivers)(Government)
- South Dakota Department of Health - Order Vital Records (who may receive certified copies; VitalChek fees; mail and in-person)(Government)
- South Dakota Department of Health - Vital Records Request application (certified vs informational copy)(Government)
About this review
Everendium Editorial Team · last reviewed October 17, 2026.
Fees, eligibility rules, and ordering options were checked on October 17, 2026 against the state's own published fee information, application forms, and county government pages listed in the sources. Death certificate fees change often, and some official pages were read only as search extracts, so the current fee should be confirmed on the agency's page before paying. Recommended for periodic re-verification. This is general information, not legal advice
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