State guide
South Dakota ID scanning laws
South Dakota does not restrict ID scanning, and staff have a defense when they examined an ID that a reasonable person would have believed was valid.
For bars, restaurants, dispensaries and retailers, the practical questions are when an ID check is required, which IDs count as proof of age, what information may be kept and what the alcohol defense requires.
Reviewed September 29, 2026 · 19 primary sources linked
South Dakota at a glance
- Is it legal to scan IDs in South Dakota?
- Yes.South Dakota does not specifically restrict ID scanning, and its alcohol and tobacco laws focus on the ID staff examine rather than the technology used to read it.
- Do you have to check IDs in South Dakota, and when?
- It depends on what you sell.Alcohol deliveries, hotel minibars and medical cannabis dispensaries have specific age-check requirements, and federal law requires tobacco retailers to check photo ID for buyers under 30. There is no statewide rule to card every customer at a bar, restaurant or store.
- Which IDs provide protection in South Dakota?
- For alcohol, the defense can rely on an ID showing the customer's age that would have appeared valid to a reasonable person.Tobacco law names a driver's license, nondriver ID, tribal ID or other generally accepted photo ID that appears valid on its face. For alcohol deliveries, the law names only a photo ID issued by South Dakota, another state or the federal government.
- Can you keep data from an ID scan in South Dakota?
- Yes.No South Dakota law sets which details from a scan may be kept or for how long. Alcohol delivery documentation and keg-sale records have separate one-year retention requirements.
- What other South Dakota laws reach the data you keep?
- A stored name with a driver's license or other government ID number can trigger South Dakota's breach-notification law.The state does not currently have a comprehensive consumer privacy law or separate biometric privacy statute.
- Does scanning give you a defense if you serve a minor in South Dakota?
- A scan does not create the alcohol defense, but it can document the ID staff examined.The alcohol defense turns on staff examining an ID that would have appeared valid to a reasonable person. Tobacco and vape retailers have a separate complete defense based on reasonable reliance on qualifying proof of age.
- Can a customer refuse an ID scan in South Dakota?
- South Dakota does not specifically regulate refusal of a scan or require a manual alternative.Service decisions remain subject to the state's public-accommodation law.
What South Dakota venues should know
Is it legal to scan IDs in South Dakota?
Yes. South Dakota does not restrict ID scanning as part of the age-checking process.
South Dakota law does not require venues to scan an ID, and it does not prohibit it. Its alcohol and tobacco laws are written around the ID a customer shows and whether it appears valid, not the way staff read it.
Do you have to check IDs in South Dakota, and when?
It depends on what you sell.
Alcohol
South Dakota makes it an offense to sell or give alcohol to anyone under 21, but it does not require every customer to be carded. For a customer aged 18 to 20, that offense does not apply when the sale happens in the immediate presence of their parent, guardian or spouse who is 21 or older.
A separate rule bars any licensee from letting anyone under 21 loiter on the licensed premises or drink alcohol there. That rule makes no exception for a parent, guardian or spouse.
Hotels with minibars must verify that each guest given a minibar key or card is 21 or older.
Alcohol delivery
Stores with an off-sale delivery license may deliver purchases of $150 or more made in person at the store, within the municipality that issued the license. The employee delivering must be 21 or older, must get the signature of a person 21 or older and must ask that person to show a valid photo ID proving they are 21 or older. The store keeps documentation verifying that ID for one year.
Tobacco and vape
South Dakota prohibits knowingly selling tobacco and vape products to anyone under 21 and requires a sign saying so, but its own law does not add an ID-check rule. Federal law requires retailers to check photo ID showing the date of birth for any buyer under 30.
Medical cannabis
Dispensaries must identify each person as a registered cardholder or other authorized person before letting them into any area with cannabis. Before dispensing, staff verify the registry card and a valid photo ID.
The exact wording
It is a Class 2 misdemeanor to sell or give for use as a beverage any alcoholic beverage to any person who is eighteen years of age or older but less than twenty-one years of age unless it is done in the immediate presence of a parent or guardian or spouse over twenty-one years of age or by prescription or direction of a duly licensed practitioner or nurse of the healing arts for medicinal purposes.
No on-sale or off-sale licensee may permit any person less than twenty-one years old to loiter on the licensed premises or to sell, serve, dispense, or consume alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises.
The licensee shall verify that each registered guest who is provided a key, magnetic card, or similar device to access a minibar is twenty-one years of age or older.
The employee shall obtain the signature of a person twenty-one years old or older before delivery of the shipment. The employee shall request that the person signing for the delivery display a valid age-bearing photo identification document issued by this state, another state, or the federal government verifying that the person is twenty-one years old or older.
A merchant shall conspicuously post a notice, on the merchant's premises, stating that "No person under the age of 21 may be sold tobacco products."
No dispensary may allow entry into areas containing cannabis without first identifying an individual as a cardholder or other person authorized pursuant to § 44:90:04:14.
SDCL 35-9-1.1SDCL 35-4-79SDCL 35-4-127SDCL 34-46-221 CFR 1140.14ARSD 44:90:08:01
Which IDs provide protection in South Dakota?
For alcohol, any ID showing the customer's age that would have appeared valid to a reasonable person.
Alcohol
South Dakota's alcohol defense does not name particular documents. It turns on staff examining an ID showing the customer's age that would have appeared valid to a reasonable person.
Deliveries are narrower. The statute names only a valid photo ID issued by South Dakota, another state or the federal government.
Tobacco and vape
South Dakota's tobacco law accepts an ID that carries the customer's picture and appears valid on its face, and names four kinds:
- A driver's license
- A nondriver ID card
- A tribal ID card
- Any other generally accepted ID
Medical cannabis
Dispensaries check the registry card and a valid photo ID issued by South Dakota, another state, a tribe or the federal government.
The exact wording
Any person charged with a violation of § 35-9-1, 35-9-1.1, or 35-12B-7, may offer evidence, as a defense, that the person made a reasonable attempt to investigate the age of the person by examining an age-bearing identification document that would have appeared valid to a reasonable and prudent person.
The employee shall request that the person signing for the delivery display a valid age-bearing photo identification document issued by this state, another state, or the federal government verifying that the person is twenty-one years old or older.
(2) "Proof of age," a driver's license, nondriver identification card, tribal identification card, or other generally accepted means of identification that contains a picture of the individual and appears on its face to be valid;
Before cannabis or a cannabis product may be dispensed to a cardholder or nonresident cardholder, a dispensary agent must verify: (1) That the registry identification card or registration presented to the dispensary is valid; (2) The identity of the person by requiring the person to present a valid photographic identification document issued by this state, another state, tribe, or the federal government; and (3) Through the department's inventory tracking system, that the registered qualifying patient or nonresident cardholder has not exceeded the allowable limit of cannabis or cannabis product in the applicable fourteen-day period.
Can you keep data from an ID scan in South Dakota?
Yes. No South Dakota law sets which details from a scan may be kept or for how long.
How long a venue keeps scan records is therefore a matter of venue policy. What a venue chooses to store can bring South Dakota's breach-notification law into play.
Two alcohol records have their own one-year rule. A store with an off-sale delivery license keeps documentation verifying the ID of the person who signed for each delivery for one year, and a store that sells a keg records the buyer's name and address and keeps that record for one year, available to law enforcement on request.
The exact wording
Documentation verifying the identification of the person signing for the delivery shall be retained by the licensee for one year.
No keg of malt beverage may be sold at retail in this state unless the licensee who sold the keg records the name and address of the person to whom the keg is sold and has provided for the identification of the keg. Each licensee shall maintain such sales records for one year and shall make the sales records available to any law enforcement agency upon request.
What other South Dakota laws reach the data you keep?
Stored government ID numbers can trigger South Dakota's breach-notification law.
A customer's first name or initial and last name kept with a driver's license number or other government-issued ID number is personal information under that law. After discovering a breach of computer records holding it, a business must notify affected South Dakota residents within 60 days unless law enforcement needs more time. It need not notify if, after an appropriate investigation and notice to the attorney general, it reasonably decides the breach will not likely cause harm, and it must keep that decision in writing for at least three years.
A breach affecting more than 250 South Dakota residents must also be reported to the attorney general, who can seek a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day per violation for a failure to notify. South Dakota does not currently have a comprehensive consumer privacy law or a biometric privacy law.
The exact wording
(4) "Personal information," a person's first name or first initial and last name, in combination with any one or more of the following data elements:
A disclosure under this section shall be made not later than sixty days from the discovery or notification of the breach of system security, unless a longer period of time is required due to the legitimate needs of law enforcement as provided under § 22-40-21.
Does scanning give you a defense if you serve a minor in South Dakota?
No, but a scan record can support South Dakota's alcohol defense by documenting the ID staff examined and what it showed.
Alcohol
A person charged with selling or giving alcohol to someone under 21 may offer, as a defense to that charge, evidence that they made a reasonable attempt to investigate the customer's age by examining an ID showing age that would have appeared valid to a reasonable person. The defense rests on examining the ID and how it would have looked rather than on scanning it. A scan record can help show which ID staff examined and when.
No one may be convicted of such a sale when the customer was carrying a false ID supplied by a state agency or local law enforcement for an attempted purchase and the staff member relied on it.
The license
A retail license may not be suspended or revoked over an employee's sale to someone under 21 if the licensee has had no more than two such violations at that premises in the previous 24 months. The secretary of revenue imposes a civil penalty instead: $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for a second, or $1,000 and $2,000 if the employee had not been certified by an approved training program. To get the lower penalty, the licensee must prove its employees attended an approved alcohol training program.
Tobacco and vape
Reasonable reliance on proof of age is a complete defense to any action over a sale of tobacco or vape products to someone under 21. A scan record can help show which ID staff relied on.
The exact wording
Any person charged with a violation of § 35-9-1, 35-9-1.1, or 35-12B-7, may offer evidence, as a defense, that the person made a reasonable attempt to investigate the age of the person by examining an age-bearing identification document that would have appeared valid to a reasonable and prudent person.
No person may be convicted of illegally selling any alcoholic beverage to any underage person pursuant to § 35-9-1 or 35-9-1.1, if the underage person was in possession of, and the seller relied upon, any false age-bearing identification document that was furnished to the underage person by any state agency or local law enforcement agency or any agent, employee, contractor, or associate of any state agency or local law enforcement agency for the purpose of attempting to illegally purchase any alcoholic beverage.
No retail license may be revoked or suspended because of a violation of any statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation prohibiting the sale or service of any alcoholic beverage to a person under the age of twenty-one years if the violation was committed by an employee or agent of the licensee and the licensee has not had more than two violations of any statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation prohibiting the sale or service of an alcoholic beverage to a person under the age of twenty-one years on the premises where the violation occurred in the previous twenty-four months.
If the licensee meets the requirements of the conditions of this section, the secretary shall impose a civil penalty of five hundred dollars for a first violation and one thousand dollars for a second violation. However, if the employee or agent has not been certified by a nationally recognized training program approved by the department that provides instruction on techniques to prevent persons under the age of twenty-one years from purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverages, the secretary shall impose a civil penalty of one thousand dollars for a first violation and two thousand dollars for a second violation.
Any licensee making a prohibited sale or service of an alcoholic beverage to a person under the age of twenty-one years has the burden of proof to show that the licensee's employees have attended an approved alcohol training program to be eligible for any reduction in the penalty imposed for the violation.
Reasonable reliance upon proof of age of the purchaser or the recipient of a tobacco product is a complete defense to any action brought against a person for the sale or distribution of a tobacco product to a person under the age of twenty-one.
SDCL 35-9-1.2SDCL 35-9-1.3SDCL 35-2-10.1SDCL 35-2-10.2SDCL 34-46-5
Can a customer refuse an ID scan in South Dakota?
South Dakota does not create a specific right to refuse a scan or require a manual alternative.
The state does not give customers a right to refuse a scan or require a venue to offer a manual alternative. How a venue handles a guest who does not want a scan is generally a matter of venue policy, subject to other applicable laws.
South Dakota's public-accommodation law applies to those decisions. It prohibits refusing service, or setting different terms, because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, disability or national origin.
The exact wording
It shall be an unfair or discriminatory practice for any person engaged in the provision of public accommodations because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, disability, or national origin, to fail or refuse to provide to any person access to the use of and benefit from the services and facilities of such public accommodations; or to accord adverse, unlawful, or unequal treatment to any person with respect to the availability of such services and facilities, the price or other consideration therefor, the scope and equality thereof, or the terms and conditions under which the same are made available, including terms and conditions relating to credit, payment, warranties, delivery, installation, and repair.
Alcohol, tobacco and local rules
Bars and restaurants
A licensee may not let anyone under 21 loiter on its premises or drink alcohol there.
The rule makes no exception for a customer aged 18 to 20 who is with a parent, guardian or spouse. When an employee without a controlling interest sells to someone under 21 while neither the licensee nor anyone with a controlling interest is present, no criminal penalty may be imposed on the licensee, but a court may order it to pay a fine of up to $500, $750 or $1,000 for a first, second or third violation within two years.
SDCL 35-4-79Package stores and delivery
Deliveries need a signature and a request to see photo ID, and the store keeps documentation for one year.
An off-sale delivery license covers purchases of $150 or more made in person at the store and delivered within the municipality that issued the license. Delivering to someone under 21 carries a civil penalty of $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 after that. Keg sales require a record of the buyer's name and address, kept for one year.
SDCL 35-4-127Tobacco and vape
Reasonable reliance on proof of age is a complete defense.
State law sets no ID-check rule, and federal law requires retailers to check photo ID for any buyer under 30. From January 1, 2027, retailers need a state nicotine license and are answerable for violations by their employees and clerks.
A violation of the nicotine and tobacco sales laws, such as a sale to anyone under 21, then brings a $500 fine for a first violation and $1,000 and $2,000 for a second and third within 36 months, with a 30-day license suspension at the third. A fourth within 36 months brings a $5,500 fine and revocation of the license.
SDCL 34-46-5Local rules
Cities and counties can add their own alcohol rules, and breaking them can cost a venue its license.
The Department of Revenue notes that local ordinances may be more restrictive than state law. A violation of an alcohol ordinance of the city or county that issued the license is a ground for the state to suspend or revoke it, and the city or county governing body may itself recommend suspension or revocation after a public hearing with 30 days' notice to the licensee.
SDCL 35-2-10What this means for your AgeShield setup
These are the AgeShield settings affected by the South Dakota rules above. How you configure them is ultimately a decision for your venue.
- How long visits are kept
- South Dakota sets no retention period for ID scan data. Stores with an off-sale delivery license keep documentation verifying the ID of each person who signs for a delivery for one year, and keg sale records are kept for one year.AgeShield setting: Set your retention period based on your venue's own policy.
- Which ID fields are stored
- South Dakota does not specify which ID fields may be stored. A name kept with a driver's license number or other government-issued ID number is personal information under the breach-notification law.AgeShield setting: Choose which ID fields are collected and stored. Individual fields can be switched off.
- Guest images
- South Dakota makes it a crime to photograph, duplicate or reproduce a tribal ID card in a way that could be mistaken for a valid ID card. It has no similar rule for driver's licenses or state ID cards.AgeShield setting: Photo Capture has three separate controls. Auto document crop captures a full image of the ID, Auto face crop extracts only the face image from the ID and Person photo is a photo staff take of the guest. Each is switched on or off by the venue.
- Consent screen
- South Dakota does not require customer consent before an ID scan.AgeShield setting: Enable the consent screen if your venue chooses to use one as part of its own policy.
- Manual entry
- South Dakota's alcohol and tobacco defenses turn on the ID staff examined and relied on, not on reading its barcode.AgeShield setting: Enable manual entry so staff can record a check when an ID cannot be scanned.
- Banned and watch lists
- South Dakota has no law on venue lists. Its public-accommodation law prohibits refusing service because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, disability or national origin.AgeShield setting: Use behavior-based reasons and notes for Banned and custom list entries.
Common questions
Is it legal to scan IDs at a bar in South Dakota?
Yes. South Dakota has no specific laws about ID scanning, and its alcohol and tobacco laws do not say how staff must read an ID.
Do you have to check IDs in South Dakota, and when?
It depends on what you sell. Alcohol deliveries, hotel minibars and medical cannabis dispensaries have specific age-check requirements, and federal law requires tobacco retailers to check photo ID for buyers under 30. There is no statewide rule to card every customer at a bar, restaurant or store.
Which IDs provide protection in South Dakota?
For alcohol, the defense can rely on an ID showing the customer's age that would have appeared valid to a reasonable person. Tobacco law names a driver's license, nondriver ID, tribal ID or other generally accepted photo ID that appears valid on its face. For alcohol deliveries, the law names only a photo ID issued by South Dakota, another state or the federal government.
Can you keep data from an ID scan in South Dakota?
Yes. No South Dakota law sets which details from a scan may be kept or for how long. Alcohol delivery documentation and keg-sale records have separate one-year retention requirements.
Does scanning give you a defense if you serve a minor in South Dakota?
A scan does not create the alcohol defense, but it can document the ID staff examined. The defense turns on staff examining an ID that would have appeared valid to a reasonable person. Tobacco and vape retailers have a separate complete defense based on reasonable reliance on qualifying proof of age.
Can a customer refuse an ID scan in South Dakota?
South Dakota does not specifically regulate refusal of a scan or require a manual alternative. Service decisions remain subject to the state's public-accommodation law.
Can a South Dakota liquor license be suspended for an employee's sale to a minor?
Not if the licensee has had no more than two such violations at that premises in the previous 24 months. The secretary of revenue imposes a civil penalty instead, and the penalty is lower when the licensee can prove the employee was certified by an approved training program.
Can a South Dakota bar detain someone who uses a fake ID?
A licensee or its employee with reasonable grounds to believe someone under 21 bought, tried to buy or had alcohol, or misrepresented their age with a document, may detain the person on the premises in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable time. The purpose must be to request and verify identification, ask whether they broke the law or hand them over to law enforcement, or a parent or guardian for a minor. A venue that chooses to use this power must conspicuously post a notice that anyone it reasonably believes is under 21 and tried to buy alcohol will be detained and handed over to law enforcement.
Can a business photograph an ID in South Dakota?
South Dakota's only rule on copying an ID covers tribal ID cards: it is a crime to photograph, duplicate or reproduce one in a way that could be mistaken for a valid ID card. South Dakota has no similar rule for driver's licenses or state ID cards.
Sources
- SDCL 35-9-1.2
- SDCL 34-46-1
- SDCL 35-9-1.1
- SDCL 35-4-79
- SDCL 35-4-127
- SDCL 34-46-2
- 21 CFR 1140.14
- ARSD 44:90:08:01
- SDCL 34-20G-70
- SDCL 35-1-12
- SDCL 22-40-19
- SDCL 22-40-20
- SDCL 22-40-25
- SDCL 35-9-1.3
- SDCL 35-2-10.1
- SDCL 35-2-10.2
- SDCL 34-46-5
- SDCL 20-13-23
- SDCL 35-2-10
This page is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. We research each rule and link its source, so you can check it against your own venue. Questions are welcome at support@ageshield.bar.
ID scanning laws in nearby states
Rules change across state lines. Compare the ID-scanning guidance for nearby states.
- State lawState law
North Dakota ID scanning laws
North Dakota gives staff a good-faith defense when a customer who looked 21 or older lied with an ID. See which IDs count.
- State lawState law
Minnesota ID scanning laws
Minnesota allows ID scanning and sets no scan-specific retention period. See which IDs count as proof of age and how a scan can document the check.
- State lawState law
Iowa ID scanning laws
Iowa allows ID scanning and asks for reasonable care in checking age. See which sales require an ID and how the alcohol defense works.
Still unsure how South Dakota applies to your venue?
Tell us what type of venue you run and we'll point you to the published rules we know of that may apply.