Nonprofit compliance in South Dakota

South Dakota does not have a broad statewide volunteer background check mandate, but sector-specific statutes require checks for childcare providers, licensed residential child-serving facilities, and certain healthcare settings. Schools check sex offender registries for supervised volunteers. No FCRA analog exists at the state level.

• Child Care Licensing Background Check Requirement (SDCL Title 26, Chapter 6 and ARSD Title 67 (Child Care Licensing Rules, effective March 2026)) — Requires criminal history record checks — including Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect searches and NCIC sex offender registry checks — for licensed child care providers, household members over 18, staff, helpers, and volunteers who supervise children or have unsupervised access to children in care. Renewals required at least every five years.
• Criminal Background Checks for Developmental Disabilities Providers (SDCL § 27A-12-4.3 and SD DHS Administrative Rules) — South Dakota Department of Human Services requires background checks for employees and volunteers serving individuals with developmental disabilities, including name-based criminal history and abuse registry checks.
• Who it reaches: Licensed child care providers and all household members over 18; Child care staff, substitutes, helpers, and volunteers with unsupervised child access; Volunteers working with individuals with developmental disabilities (DHS programs); Student teachers and interns in public schools (sex offender registry check); Volunteers in residential facilities for children.
• Check types in use: Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect check; NCIC Sex Offender Registry check; State criminal history check via SD Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI); National FBI fingerprint check (for some licensed residential facilities).
• Administered by: South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) — Attorney General's Office; South Dakota Department of Social Services (DSS) for child care sector.
• Typical processing: Typically 3–7 business days for state-only checks; 2–4 weeks for FBI fingerprint checks.

South Dakota is one of ten states with no general charitable solicitation registration requirement. That is not the same as nothing to do: county or municipal rules can still apply, professional fundraisers are often regulated separately, and registering elsewhere may still be required the moment you solicit residents of another state.

• No statewide registration for the charity itself under current guidance.
• Soliciting residents of other states can trigger registration in those states regardless of where you are based — an online donate button reaches all fifty.
• Exemptions exist in most registering states (small organizations, religious organizations, membership appeals) but they are specific and usually must be claimed rather than assumed.
• Confirm current requirements with your state charity office before relying on this — thresholds and exemptions are amended frequently.

These apply regardless of which state you operate in, and they are the ones most commonly missed by small organizations that assume state registration is the whole picture.

• Annual Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N. Three consecutive years of non-filing revokes exempt status automatically — this is the single most common way small nonprofits lose their status.
• If you run background checks on volunteers, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to you as a user of consumer reports: a standalone written disclosure, separate written authorization, and the pre-adverse and adverse action sequence before acting on a result.
• Public disclosure: your exemption application and recent 990s must be made available on request.
• Employment obligations attach to paid staff regardless of exempt status — payroll tax, worker classification, and wage and hour law all apply.