South Dakota Expungement & Court Record Removal: When the Law Falls Short

South Dakota's Approach to Court Record Relief

South Dakota stands out nationally for how little expungement relief it provides. While most states have expanded their expungement and sealing laws significantly since 2010, South Dakota has made minimal changes. As of 2026, the state does not have a general expungement statute for convictions, no automatic sealing program, and no clean slate legislation. Learn more about Spokeo removal on our blog.

What South Dakota does have is SDCL § 23A-3-27, which allows a circuit court to order the destruction of arrest records and related materials under narrow circumstances - primarily when a person was arrested but not charged, when charges were dismissed, or when the individual was acquitted at trial. This is not expungement of a conviction; it is relief for people who were arrested but never found guilty.

For individuals with actual convictions - regardless of the severity, the passage of time, or rehabilitation - South Dakota currently offers no statutory path to seal or expunge the record. This places South Dakota among only a handful of states that have not modernized their approach to second-chance legislation.

What SDCL § 23A-3-27 Actually Covers

Under South Dakota's arrest record destruction statute, a circuit court may order that arrest records be destroyed when:

• The person was arrested and no charges were filed within 90 days
• All charges arising from the arrest were dismissed
• The person was acquitted of all charges at trial
• The conviction was overturned on appeal or post-conviction review and charges were subsequently dismissed

The petition is filed in circuit court, and the court has discretion to grant or deny the order. If granted, the order directs law enforcement agencies to destroy the arrest records and related materials. The court record of the case itself is not destroyed - only the arrest records held by law enforcement.

Importantly, even a successful petition under § 23A-3-27 does not guarantee removal from online databases, news archives, or third-party background check companies that independently collected and stored the information.

Governor's Pardon

South Dakota does have a pardon process through the Governor's Office and the Board of Pardons and Paroles. A pardon restores certain civil rights (such as the right to vote and, in some cases, to possess firearms) but does not seal or expunge the criminal record. The conviction remains publicly visible - a pardon simply means the state has forgiven the offense. It does not remove the record from online searches, court databases, or background check reports.

The South Dakota UJS Portal: A Major Source of Online Exposure

The South Dakota Unified Judicial System (UJS) operates an online case portal that provides public access to court records across South Dakota's circuit courts. This portal is one of the primary sources that data aggregators and background check companies use to populate their databases with South Dakota criminal records.

The UJS portal includes case names, charges, dispositions, sentencing information, and case status for most criminal matters. Because the portal is freely accessible and regularly scraped by data brokers, a South Dakota criminal record is likely to appear in commercial background check databases within days or weeks of the case being filed - often before the case is even resolved.

For cases resolved by acquittal or dismissal with a § 23A-3-27 order, the UJS may update the case record, but the underlying case information often remains searchable. The order affects law enforcement arrest records, not necessarily the court's own public records.

Online Removal: The Primary Strategy for South Dakota Records

Because legal relief is unavailable for most South Dakotans with court records, online removal through data broker opt-outs, background check company disputes, and search suppression is the principal approach.

Data Broker Opt-Outs

Hundreds of data aggregator websites collect, store, and sell personal information including court records, arrest records, and background check data. Sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages, Intelius, MyLife, PeopleFinders, and many others will display South Dakota court records. Each site has its own removal process - some allow simple online opt-outs, others require identity verification, and a few require written requests or repeated follow-up. Processing times range from days to weeks.

The challenge is volume and persistence. When you remove a record from one data broker, other brokers - who source from the first - may repopulate the record weeks later. Comprehensive, ongoing monitoring and removal maintenance is often necessary to keep records suppressed across the ecosystem.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Disputes

Consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) that provide reports for employment, housing, or credit purposes are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Under the FCRA, CRAs must report only accurate information and must investigate disputes within 30 days. If a background check report contains information that is factually incorrect - wrong charges, wrong dates, records that belong to someone else - you have the right to dispute the report.

Note: The FCRA dispute process addresses accuracy, not the mere existence of a criminal record. A correctly reported conviction cannot be disputed out of a CRA report on the grounds that you want it removed.

Google Search Suppression

Even when a court record stays at its source, search engine optimization (SEO) techniques can substantially reduce how prominently it appears when someone searches your name. By creating and optimizing authoritative content that ranks above negative results - professional profiles, business websites, positive news coverage, social media - a skilled reputation management team can push court record results to page 2 or beyond, where most people never look.

Google also has a Results About You tool that allows individuals to request removal of specific personal information from search results in certain circumstances, though its fit for court records is assessed case by case.

The Practical Impact of South Dakota's Restrictive Laws

South Dakota's near-total absence of expungement law has real consequences. Employers conduct background checks. Landlords screen tenants. Lending institutions review credit and criminal history. Professional licensing boards consider criminal records. Without the ability to seal or expunge a conviction, South Dakotans carry their records indefinitely - in legal databases, in background check reports, and on the internet.

Advocacy groups have pushed for expungement reform in South Dakota, and bills have been introduced in the legislature, but as of 2026 no comprehensive expungement statute has been enacted. Anyone with a South Dakota criminal record should monitor legislative developments while simultaneously addressing online exposure through available channels.

Reputation Resolutions has worked with clients in every state, including states with minimal legal relief like South Dakota. Our approach in restrictive-law states focuses heavily on comprehensive data broker removal, aggressive suppression of search results, and long-term monitoring to catch and address new instances of record publication.

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