Business license · South Dakota

Does Your LLC Need a Business License in South Dakota?

The short answer. We have not confirmed whether South Dakota requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the South Dakota Secretary of State and the state's revenue department. Your local government may also require a license for certain activities.

South Dakota Business License at a Glance

General state business license	Not confirmed
City or county licenses	Local governments license some activities (see Local licenses)
Trade and professional licenses	State licensing boards (see Trade licenses)

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 30, 2026. See the sources.

Does South Dakota Require a State Business License?

We have not confirmed whether South Dakota requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the South Dakota Secretary of State and the state's revenue department.

City and County Business Licenses

South Dakota law lets municipalities license, tax and regulate listed businesses and trades, such as transient merchants, auctioneers, peddlers, pawnbrokers, plumbers, electricians and residential contractors, and fix the amount and terms of their licenses. The Governor's Office of Economic Development says that, depending on the type of business, you may need a special license or registration at the city, county or state level.

Professional and Trade Licenses

South Dakota licenses many regulated occupations through boards and commissions under the Department of Labor and Regulation, such as the Cosmetology, Electrical, Plumbing and Real Estate Commissions. Other state agencies, including the Department of Health, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Revenue, issue licenses for specific business activities. Look up South Dakota license requirements.

Our verified guides for specific trades in this state:

See trade and business license requirements by state for every trade we cover.

Other South Dakota Registrations to Check

South Dakota articles of organization, the filing that creates the LLC itself.
South Dakota Sales Tax License, for a business that sells taxable goods or services.
South Dakota resale certificate, to buy inventory for resale without paying tax on it.
How to get an EIN, the federal tax ID most LLCs need to open a bank account or hire.

Frequently Asked Questions

: We have not confirmed whether South Dakota requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the South Dakota Secretary of State and the state's revenue department.
: South Dakota law lets municipalities license, tax and regulate listed businesses and trades, such as transient merchants, auctioneers, peddlers, pawnbrokers, plumbers, electricians and residential contractors, and fix the amount and terms of their licenses. The Governor's Office of Economic Development says that, depending on the type of business, you may need a special license or registration at the city, county or state level.
: South Dakota licenses many regulated occupations through boards and commissions under the Department of Labor and Regulation, such as the Cosmetology, Electrical, Plumbing and Real Estate Commissions. Other state agencies, including the Department of Health, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Revenue, issue licenses for specific business activities.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and agencies say about a general state business license, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you which licenses your own business needs: that turns on what the business does, where it operates, and what its city or county requires, and fees and exemptions change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the state agency named on this page, the city or county where the business is located, and any state board that licenses your trade before you open.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified South Dakota sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/9-34SDCL chapter 9-34, Trade Regulation and Licenses (9-34-1, 9-34-7, 9-34-8, 9-34-12)
sdgoed.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023-New-Business-Checklist-2.pdfSouth Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development, New Business Checklist (2023)
sdgoed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-Licensing-and-Registering-Your-Business.pdfSouth Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development, Step 8: Licensing and Registering Your Business (2021)
dlr.sd.govSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, home page (Boards and Commissions)

More for South Dakota LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.