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Driver’s license and state ID in South Dakota

Update your name
YesAfter your legal name change
Gender markerThe sex or gender field (M, F, or X) printed on an ID document or stored in an agency's record.
UnclearNo written policy; see details

You can update your name on a South Dakota driver license or ID for $20. Changing the sex marker is very likely no longer possible: since July 1, 2026, state law requires every agency to use biological sex, and the license must show "the holder's sex." The state has not published a policy either way; there is no X option.

Main cost
$20
Apply
In person

Draft from official sources, September 24, 2026. Not yet checked by a person. How we verify

On this page
  1. How it works
  2. Steps
  3. Costs and fee waivers
  4. Requirements
  5. After you finish
  6. Tips
  7. Laws and other guides
  8. Sources

How it works

Name change: bring your certified court order (or another document proving the new legal name, such as a passport in that name) to a Driver Licensing exam station and pay the $20 name change fee. The name on the card must be your full legal name.

Sex marker: South Dakota law requires the license to show "the holder's sex" (SDCL 32-12-17.10). HB 1184 (2026) now defines "sex" in all state law as "an individual's biological sex, either male or female," and requires state agencies to strictly follow that definition in their policies and practices. Before this law, advocates reported that the Department of Public Safety changed the marker with a court order or a physician's statement. We could not find any current DPS policy. Expect a request to be refused, and ask before you pay.

Only M and F are printed on South Dakota cards; there is no X.

Steps

  1. Gather proof of your new legal name[3][8]

    Bring a certified copy of the court order changing your name (or a U.S. passport in the new name), plus your current license or ID. Update your name with Social Security first, since the license record is checked against it.

  2. Visit a Driver Licensing exam station and pay $20[1][4][2]

    A name change requires a new card with a new photo, so go in person. Some offices, including Sioux Falls, work by appointment; schedule on the state's driver licensing site. The fee for a name change or duplicate is $20 for a driver license or ID card.

    Cost
    $20 name change, duplicate, or address change (driver license or ID card)

  3. Ask before trying to change the sex marker[9][6][11]

    Optional

    If you want to try, call Driver Licensing first and ask whether it accepts any document to change the sex on a license after HB 1184 took effect on July 1, 2026. Ask for the answer in writing. If you are refused, contact the ACLU of South Dakota or the Transformation Project, which track how the law is applied.

Costs and fee waivers

WhatCostNotes
Name change, duplicate, or address change (driver license or ID card)[1][4][5][7]$20An original or renewal license is $38. A one-time free ID card or duplicate is available if you are homeless, with an affidavit from a homeless services provider (SDCL 32-12-17.16).

More detail

RequirementsWhere you live
Where you live
South Dakota residents. Name and identity documents must meet the state's REAL ID document rules (SDCL 32-12-3.1 to 32-12-3.5).[8]
After you finishIf you have a South Dakota birth certificate, you can amend the name on it with your court order (see the birth certificate guide).

If you have a South Dakota birth certificate, you can amend the name on it with your court order (see the birth certificate guide). Keep your old card until the new one arrives.

Tips1 tip from people who have done this
  • Bring the certified court order, not a photocopy.
Laws and other guides3 laws, 1 pending bill, 1 other guide

Pending legislation

  • HB 1260 (2025) (dead, 2025-02-20). Would have required birth certificates and other official documents, including driver licenses, to reflect biological sex. Failed on the House floor 35-35; reconsideration failed.[10]

Laws and rules

Other trusted guides

Sources

11 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
  1. Driver License/ID Card Fees (KB0043708)South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Official page. accessed
    “Driver License $38 Driver License Renewal $38 Duplicate / Replacement Driver License $20”
  2. Sioux Falls Driver License Express Station Moving to Appointments OnlySouth Dakota Department of Public Safety, Official page. accessed
  3. Passport Works As Proof Of Driver License Name-ChangeSouth Dakota Department of Public Safety, Official page. accessed
  4. SDCL 32-12-16, Fee for original, renewal, duplicate, or changed licenseSouth Dakota Legislature, Law. accessed
    “The fee for a duplicate license, a name change, or an address change is twenty dollars.”
  5. SDCL 32-12-17.2, Nondriver identification cardsSouth Dakota Legislature, Law. accessed
  6. SDCL 32-12-17.10, Contents of license or permitSouth Dakota Legislature, Law. accessed
    “must bear ... (4) The holder's sex”
  7. SDCL 32-12-17.16, Nondriver ID fee waiver for homeless applicantsSouth Dakota Legislature, Law. accessed
  8. SDCL 32-12-3, Contents of applicationSouth Dakota Legislature, Law. accessed
  9. HB 1184 (2026), An Act to define man and woman throughout the stateSouth Dakota Legislature, Law. accessed
    “The definitions of "boy," "father," "female," "girl," "male," "man," "mother," "sex," and "woman," as set forth in § 2-14-2, apply uniformly throughout all administrative rules, contracts, guidance documents, policies, practices, and statutes of the state and each political subdivision.”
  10. HB 1260 (2025), require that birth certificates and certain official documents reflect biological sexSouth Dakota Legislature, Law. accessed
  11. South Dakota Identity DocumentsAdvocates for Trans Equality, Organization. accessed
    “a court order certifying the gender change or (2b) a signed affidavit from a licensed physician certifying that the applicant's gender has been medically altered”