South Dakota: Adult Conviction Expungement and Record-Sealing Eligibility
The short answer
South Dakota has no general petition to erase an ordinary adult conviction. Its two conviction routes are narrow: a person who received a suspended imposition of sentence and completes probation is discharged without an adjudication of guilt—by statute not deemed a conviction—and the court seals the records; and a petty offense, municipal-ordinance violation, or Class 2 misdemeanor is automatically removed from the public record five years after all conditions are met with no new offense. Sealing hides but does not destroy records, the Division of Criminal Investigation keeps its nonpublic file, and both routes leave the record reachable by courts and usable to enhance a later sentence.
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This is the general rule in South Dakota. Ezel applies current South Dakota law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Relief name and legal effect | Two narrow routes, both sealing rather than destruction (SDCL 23A-3-26). After a suspended imposition of sentence, discharge and dismissal are 'without court adjudication of guilt' and 'not deemed a conviction,' and the court seals all official records (§§ 23A-27-14, 23A-27-17). Separately, minor charges/convictions are removed from the public record though the case file survives (§ 23A-3-34). No general expungement of an entered conviction. |
|---|---|
| Automatic or clean-slate relief | Yes, but only for the smallest cases: a petty offense, municipal-ordinance violation, or Class 2 misdemeanor that was the highest charge is automatically removed from the public record five years after all court-ordered conditions are met, if no further offense in that period (§ 23A-3-34). No application is filed. |
| Convictions eligible by petition | No petition seals an ordinary entered conviction. Conviction relief instead depends on having received a suspended imposition of sentence—available once for a first-time felony offender (§ 23A-27-13) and once for a misdemeanor (§ 23A-27-12.2)—then completing probation to earn discharge and sealing (§§ 23A-27-14, 23A-27-17). |
| Excluded offenses and statuses | A suspended imposition of sentence is unavailable for a felony punishable by death or life, for anyone previously convicted of a felony, and entirely for rape under § 22-22-1(2) or (3) (§§ 23A-27-13, 23A-27-13.3). It may be used only once per person. Automatic removal reaches only petty, municipal-ordinance, or Class 2 misdemeanor cases (§ 23A-3-34). |
| Waiting period and when it starts | Automatic removal: five years measured from satisfaction of all court-ordered conditions on the case, with no further conviction in those five years (§ 23A-3-34). The suspended-imposition route sets no fixed number—sealing follows discharge, which occurs on completing the probation term the court imposed (§§ 23A-27-13, 23A-27-14). |
| Sentence, restitution, and new-record conditions | Both routes require completion. Discharge under the suspended-imposition route follows 'completion of the observance of all conditions imposed' during probation (§ 23A-27-14). Automatic removal requires that 'all court-ordered conditions on the case have been satisfied' and no new conviction within the five years (§ 23A-3-34). |
| Petition process and decision standard | A suspended-imposition discharge is brought to the court's attention by the court services officer or the defendant, the clerk enters a formal discharge, and the sealing order issues (§§ 23A-27-14, 23A-27-17). Automatic removal needs no filing (§ 23A-3-34). Where the general expungement chapter applies, the court may order expungement only on clear and convincing evidence that the ends of justice and the best interest of the public and the person are served (§ 23A-3-30). |
| Who can still see or use the record | Sealing prohibits disclosure but does not destroy records (§ 23A-3-26). After a suspended-imposition discharge the court seals all official records except the nonpublic records retained by the Division of Criminal Investigation, and the person may lawfully decline to acknowledge the arrest or trial (§ 23A-27-17). An automatically removed minor case still 'remains available to court personnel or as authorized by order of the court and may be used as an enhancement in the prosecution of subsequent offenses' (§ 23A-3-34). |
| Boundaries and alternative relief | The general expungement chapter (§§ 23A-3-26 to 23A-3-35) mainly clears arrests that did not lead to conviction—no accusatory instrument, dismissal, or acquittal—and diversion-program records (§§ 23A-3-27, 23A-3-35); those are non-conviction matters. Juvenile records (§ 26-7A-115) and gubernatorial pardons follow separate law. |
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Requirements one by one
Relief name and legal effect
South Dakota has no single "expunge my conviction" statute. Two narrow routes
reach a conviction, and both seal rather than destroy—§ 23A-3-26 defines
expungement as sealing and says it "does not imply the physical destruction of
records."
The main route runs through a suspended imposition of sentence. When a
person completes probation, the discharge and dismissal are "without court
adjudication of guilt" and "shall not be deemed a conviction" (§ 23A-27-14), and
the court then seals all official records (§ 23A-27-17). The second route is the
automatic removal of the smallest cases from the public record (§ 23A-3-34).
Automatic or clean-slate relief
Section 23A-3-34 supplies the only automatic conviction relief. A charge or
conviction "where a petty offense, municipal ordinance violation, or a Class 2
misdemeanor was the highest charged offense shall be automatically removed from a
defendant's public record after five years" once all court-ordered conditions are
satisfied and the person has picked up no further offense in that window. Nothing
is filed. Everything above a Class 2 misdemeanor, and every felony, falls outside
this automatic path.
Convictions eligible by petition
There is no petition to seal an already-entered ordinary conviction. Relief
depends on the disposition the person received at sentencing. A suspended
imposition of sentence is available once for a first-time felony offender under
§ 23A-27-13 and once for a misdemeanor under § 23A-27-12.2 (both referenced in
§ 23A-27-14). Completing probation converts that disposition into a discharge and
sealing—so the eligibility question is really "did you get a suspended imposition
at sentencing," not "can you petition years later."
Excluded offenses and statuses
Section 23A-27-13 limits the felony suspended imposition to offenses "not
punishable by death or life imprisonment" and to a person "never before convicted
of a crime that at the time of conviction constitutes a felony," and allows it
only once in a lifetime. Section 23A-27-13.3 adds an outright bar: no suspended
imposition for rape under § 22-22-1(2) or (3). Automatic removal is confined to
petty, municipal-ordinance, and Class 2 misdemeanor cases.
Waiting period and when it starts
The two routes measure time differently. Automatic removal runs five years from
satisfaction of all court-ordered conditions on the case, and the person must
stay conviction-free across those five years (§ 23A-3-34). The suspended-imposition
route has no fixed number: sealing follows the discharge, which happens whenever
the person finishes the probation term the court set (§§ 23A-27-13, 23A-27-14).
Sentence, restitution, and new-record conditions
Both routes are completion-gated. Discharge under the suspended-imposition route
requires "completion of the observance of all conditions imposed" during probation
(§ 23A-27-14)—which includes any restitution or program the court ordered.
Automatic removal requires that "all court-ordered conditions on the case have
been satisfied" and no new conviction within the five years (§ 23A-3-34).
Petition process and decision standard
For the suspended-imposition route, the court services officer or the defendant
brings the completed case to the court's attention, the clerk enters a formal
discharge, and the sealing order issues under § 23A-27-17. Automatic removal is
self-executing and needs no motion. Where the general expungement chapter does
apply—principally to arrests and non-convictions—the court may order expungement
only on clear and convincing evidence that the ends of justice and the best
interest of the public and the person are served (§ 23A-3-30).
Who can still see or use the record
Sealing bars disclosure but does not erase the file (§ 23A-3-26). After a
suspended-imposition discharge, § 23A-27-17 seals all official records "other than
the nonpublic records to be retained by the Division of Criminal Investigation,"
restores the person "to the status he occupied before his arrest," and protects
them from a perjury charge for not acknowledging the case. A case that is
automatically removed under § 23A-3-34 still "remains available to court personnel
or as authorized by order of the court and may be used as an enhancement in the
prosecution of subsequent offenses."
What trips people up
A straight conviction with a sentence usually cannot be cleared. If you were
convicted and sentenced (not given a suspended imposition) and the offense is
above a Class 2 misdemeanor, South Dakota's general chapter does not offer a
sealing petition for it.
The Division of Criminal Investigation keeps a nonpublic copy. Section
23A-27-17 seals court and agency records but expressly carves out the DCI's
nonpublic records, so the state's criminal-history file is not erased.
"Removed from the public record" is not gone. An automatically removed minor
case can still be pulled by court order and used to enhance a later prosecution
(§ 23A-3-34).
Common questions
Is South Dakota expungement mostly about arrests? Yes. The general chapter
(§§ 23A-3-26 to 23A-3-35) is built around arrests that did not lead to
conviction—no charge filed, dismissal, or acquittal—plus diversion records.
Can I use a suspended imposition twice? No. Section 23A-27-14 allows the
discharge only once for a suspended imposition under § 23A-27-13 and once under
§ 23A-27-12.2, and § 23A-27-13 bars a second felony suspended imposition outright.
Do I have to file anything for the five-year automatic removal? No. Section
23A-3-34 removes the qualifying minor case from the public record automatically
once the conditions and five-year clean period are met.
Does a pardon clear my record? A gubernatorial pardon is separate relief with
its own rules and is not the sealing routes described here.
Statutes and sources
- SDCL § 23A-3-26 — expungement defined as sealing, not destruction.
https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/23A-3-26 (accessed 2026-07-20) - SDCL § 23A-3-30 — clear-and-convincing standard for an expungement order.
https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/23A-3-30 (accessed 2026-07-20) - SDCL § 23A-3-34 — automatic five-year removal of petty, municipal-ordinance, and
Class 2 misdemeanor cases, with the court-access and enhancement carve-outs.
https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/23A-3-34 (accessed 2026-07-20) - SDCL § 23A-27-13 — suspended imposition of a felony sentence: first-time,
non-death/life, once only.
https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/23A-27-13 (accessed 2026-07-20) - SDCL § 23A-27-13.3 — no suspended imposition for rape under § 22-22-1(2) or (3).
https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/23A-27-13.3 (accessed 2026-07-20) - SDCL § 23A-27-14 — discharge and dismissal without adjudication of guilt, not
deemed a conviction, once-only limit.
https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/23A-27-14 (accessed 2026-07-20) - SDCL § 23A-27-17 — sealing of records on discharge, DCI nonpublic-records
carve-out, restoration of status, and no perjury for nondisclosure.
https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/23A-27-17 (accessed 2026-07-20)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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