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RE License Guide

SD real estate licensing guide

South Dakota

South Dakota does not issue an original salesperson license. Entry is broker associate after 116 class hours, a PSI sitting at 75 percent, a 60-day filing fuse, and a 24-hour Responsible Broker course only when you take the supervising seat.

Verified 2026-09-02

The South Dakota Real Estate Commission, under the Department of Labor and Regulation at 217 W. Missouri Avenue in Pierre, does not sell an original salesperson license. SDCL 36-21A-30.1 requires one hundred sixteen class hours in a Commission-approved course for a broker associate. The PSI bulletin is titled Real Estate Broker Associate Examination. The fee table's salesperson line is reciprocal only. North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wyoming still issue salesperson credentials; this state does not.

PSI (test-takers.psiexams.com/sdre) seats the 10/1/2023 bulletin: $98 for state, national, or combo; Broker National 90 items scoring 100 points at 75 percent in 150 minutes; State 52 items at 75 percent in 120 minutes. The Commission's live fee table also prints $294 total ($98 × 3 portions). Pay the catalog you book. File the $225 application within 60 days of written passing notice or the score is canceled (SDCL 36-21A-36.1). Fingerprints are DCI and FBI ($43.25 to DCI with the cards on the resident application). Active practice requires E&O (SDCL 36-21A-119 to -122). New associates complete 60 postlicense hours, 30 + 30, by the second active renewal (SDCL 36-21A-30.2). Renewals are $125 every two years, due November 30, with 24 hours of CE including 12 in required subjects.

Responsible broker is a different legal object: two years active as a salesperson or broker associate plus 24 additional class hours (SDCL 36-21A-31, raised from 15 to 24 effective January 1, 2023). Application $225, firm $100. Conditional approval can run the 24 hours six months after the upgrade. A broker associate cannot be the responsible broker of a firm. That is the whole point of the second title.

Licensing authority

South Dakota Real Estate Commission (Department of Labor and Regulation)

SDREC

Does not issue an original salesperson license. Entry is broker associate after 116 commission-approved class hours (SDCL 36-21A-30.1). PSI delivers the broker-associate examination (bulletin titled Real Estate Broker Associate Examination, 10/1/2023). A salesperson application fee exists only as reciprocal. Responsible broker is a separate upgrade: two years active plus a 24-hour Responsible Broker course. E&O is required for active practice. File within 60 days of the passing notice or the score is void.

SDCL chapter 36-21A (especially 36-21A-30.1 116-hour broker associate; 36-21A-30.2 60-hour postlicense; 36-21A-31 responsible broker 2 years + 24 hours; 36-21A-36.1 60-day filing; 36-21A-43 exam reciprocity; 36-21A-119 to -122 E&O); ARSD 20:69 217 W. Missouri Ave., Pierre, SD 57501 (605) 773-3600

Official commission site

License types in South Dakota

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