People love our South Dakota Vehicle Registration Service! You send us whatever proof of ownership you have for your car, truck, motorcycle, or UTV, along with some identity documents. You pay sales tax if you haven’t already, and a few weeks later, you receive street-legal registration documents without ever setting foot in the DMV. If we hadn’t already done this service for thousands of happy customers, even we’d have a hard time believing it could be this easy!
New Fee in South Dakota (and a Silver Lining)
One of the reasons that we’re so good at handling registration paperwork for customers is that we pay close attention to local regulations (see our ever-growing street legal UTV Guide). We want to spread the word about a new law taking effect that the South Dakota governor signed in early 2024. This law adds a new $100 fee for customers who register cars, trucks, and motorcycles in South Dakota but don’t live in the state.
We never like to read the phrase “new fee” in news from the statehouse, but there’s a silver lining: this fee is intended to help speed up the registration process and get you street-legal documents for your vehicle even faster. We’re sharing this info because we believe in keeping our customers ahead of the news and as wealthy as possible by means of our competitively low pricing across all our services.
These Changes Benefit South Dakota and You
One of the goals of the new law is avoiding any backlog in processing applications for registration and title. The other goal is sending a bit more money to county governments that can use the funding. Half of the $100 will go to the state department of revenue, and the other half will go to the country that processes the vehicle paperwork. There is no indication that South Dakota wants to stop out-of-state folks from applying for vehicle paperwork. So, with fingers crossed, this law will increase the standing of South Dakota offering these sorts of abilities in the first place, giving car, bike, and off-road people across the country ongoing access to a great way to get street legal and on the road.
We Register Your Vehicle, You Avoid the DMV
We love the natural beauty and friendly people of South Dakota, but the gearhead in us really appreciates that it’s possible to register a car, truck, or motorcycle without living in the state - if you know how to navigate local regulations like we do. Vehicle-related taxes and fees are also lower in South Dakota than almost anywhere else, and emissions inspections are not required.
As of 2018, over 58,000 vehicles with out-of-state addresses were already registered in South Dakota. According to Forbes, there are about 51% more motor vehicles registered in the state than there are licensed drivers! In the years since that statistic was collected, we’ve helped thousands of folks get their street-legal paperwork without visiting the DMV. See everything we offer.
Friendly Laws = Possible Backlog
According to sources like this article, high numbers of out-of-state applications for title and registration are causing a backlog. We have a great network of local contacts in South Dakota and, as soon as we can confirm any information about a changed timeline, we’ll update the easy-to-read info on our website. For now, we’re sticking with the existing timeframe. We can get your South Dakota registration documents in a matter of weeks once you send us the paperwork that the process requires. We’re doing our best to leverage our order volume to keep your wait times as low as possible! See here for all the detailed information on our South Dakota process.
No disrespect to the Mount Rushmore State, but this isn’t the first time that South Dakota has had delay issues in the processing of state titles. In 2022, the state had to pause the issuing of paper titles because it ran out of the special paper that title printing requires. Because of our close working relationship with state officials, we knew that the backlog was getting resolved before this press release even came out announcing the end of the delays. We’re on top of all the DMV info that you need to know!
Summing It All Up
By now, hopefully you understand:
How South Dakota is adding a new fee for non-resident registration and title services
Why South Dakota wanted to add a new fee in the first place and order processing impacts therein
How we’ll let you know the minute the timeframe changes impact our South Dakota services and estimated timeframes
How this law may well improve South Dakota’s stance on providing these abilities in the long term
How our services help folks avoid the DMV while ensuring South Dakota’s departments enjoy the increased benefits of this new law
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you'd like more information. We wish you luck with all your driving and riding adventures; we’ll see you on the road and not at the DMV!
This Dirt Legal Update covers a new law in South Dakota and how it impacts you. We know what’s happening at the DMV, so you never have to go there!