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South Dakota car accident laws
Is South Dakota a no-fault state? No. South Dakota is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
South Dakota gives you three years to file a personal injury lawsuit (S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-14(3)).
The legal minimum liability coverage in South Dakota is $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash and $25,000 for property (25/50/25).
You can recover only if your own negligence was 'slight' compared with the defendant's; your damages are then reduced by your share, and if your negligence was more than slight you recover nothing.
Quoted from South Dakota statutes and official pages, checked October 2, 2026 · not legal advice
The rules in one table
| Rule | South Dakota | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to sue for an injury | Three years after the cause of action accrues | S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-14(3) |
| Deadline for vehicle damage | Six years for taking, detaining or injuring goods or chattels | S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-13(4) |
| Deadline for a wrongful death claim | Three years after the death of the deceased person | S.D. Codified Laws § 21-5-3 |
| Claims against a government body | Written notice of the time, place and cause of the injury must be given to the public entity within 180 days after the injury, or the action cannot be maintained. | S.D. Codified Laws § 3-21-2 |
| Insurance system | at-fault | S.D. Codified Laws § 32-35-113 |
| If you were partly at fault | slight/gross comparison. You can recover only if your own negligence was 'slight' compared with the defendant's; your damages are then reduced by your share, and if your negligence was more than slight you recover nothing. | S.D. Codified Laws § 20-9-2 |
| Minimum liability coverage | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per crash / $25,000 property | S.D. Codified Laws § 32-35-70 |
Deadlines can be shorter or longer for minors, for injuries found later, and for claims against a government. A lawyer licensed in South Dakota can tell you the date that applies to you.
Next steps after a South Dakota crash
How to get a South Dakota crash report ($4 fee to locate and provide the report plus a $6 convenience fee for online purchase ($10 total online); by mail the $4 fee).
Check your deadline and a rough claim range
A filing date and a rough value range for South Dakota. Both take under a minute.
Questions
How long do you have to sue after a car accident in South Dakota?
Three years for an injury claim (S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-14(3)) and six years for vehicle damage. Shorter notice rules can apply to claims against a government.
Is South Dakota a no-fault state?
No. South Dakota is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault in South Dakota?
South Dakota follows slight/gross comparison. You can recover only if your own negligence was 'slight' compared with the defendant's; your damages are then reduced by your share, and if your negligence was more than slight you recover nothing.
What is the minimum car insurance in South Dakota?
The legal minimum liability coverage in South Dakota is $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash and $25,000 for property (25/50/25).
Sources
- Deadline to sue for an injury (S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-14(3)): sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/15-2-14.html?all=true
can be commenced only within three years after the cause of action shall have accrued: [...] (3) An action for personal injury.
- Deadline for vehicle damage (S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-13(4)): sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/15-2-13.html?all=true
can be commenced only within six years after the cause of action shall have accrued: [...] (4) An action for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels, including actions for specific recovery of personal property;
- Deadline for a wrongful death claim (S.D. Codified Laws § 21-5-3): sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/21-5-3.html?all=true
Every action for wrongful death shall be commenced within three years after the death of such deceased person.
- Claims against a government body (S.D. Codified Laws § 3-21-2): sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/3-21-2.html?all=true
No action for the recovery of damages for personal injury, property damage, error, or omission or death caused by a public entity or its employees may be maintained against the public entity or its employees unless written notice of the time, place, and cause of the injury is given to the public entity as provided by this chapter within one hundred eighty days after the injury.
- Insurance system (S.D. Codified Laws § 32-35-113): sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/32-35-113.html?all=true
Every driver or owner of a motor vehicle shall at all times maintain in force one of the forms of financial responsibility on the motor vehicle by one of the following methods:
- If you were partly at fault (S.D. Codified Laws § 20-9-2): sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/20-9-2.html?all=true
In all actions brought to recover damages for injuries to a person or to that person's property caused by the negligence of another, the fact that the plaintiff may have been guilty of contributory negligence does not bar a recovery when the contributory negligence of the plaintiff was slight in comparison with the negligence of the defendant, but in such case, the damages shall be reduced in proportion to the amount of plaintiff's contributory negligence.
- Minimum liability coverage (S.D. Codified Laws § 32-35-70): sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/32-35-70.html?all=true
subject to limits exclusive of interests and costs, with respect to each insured vehicle, as follows: twenty - five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for one person, fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and twenty - five thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.
Read October 2, 2026. Laws and fees change; the linked page is the authority.