Vital Records

The Register of Deeds’ Vital Records Department maintains birth, death, marriage and burial record information. Our Office works directly with the South Dakota Department of Health and Vital Records. Birth, death and marriage records are also on file with the SD Dept. of Health.

BIRTH RECORDS

Happy Birthday Balloons

South Dakota Birth records officially date back to approximately 1905. Effective July 1, 2005, in order to obtain a copy of a birth record, a person must complete the necessary application form and provide proof of identity. If an authorized representative is designated for the registrant, the authorization section of the application must also be completed and submitted along with a $10.00 fee for each copy requested. The 10.00 fee is required, by law, regardless of whether the record is found. The $10.00 fee may be waived if an applicant qualifies under certain circumstances. Birth Certificate application forms and instructions are available at the Register of Deeds’ Office, or you may click here for vital record application forms.

If requesting the copy by mail, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope along with your check or money order made payable to the Minnehaha County Register of Deeds at address is 415 N Dakota Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57104 (605) 367-4223. We are also able to take payment by credit card if the request is made by telephone; however, there will be an additional expedient fee if payment is made by credit card.

Birth records that are over 100 years old may be found on the following web site: http://apps.sd.gov/applications/PH14Over100BirthRec/index.asp

MARRIAGE RECORDS Wedding Cake

South Dakota Marriage records in Minnehaha County date back to 1872, before statehood, when we were known as Dakota Territory. Some of the marriage records include marriages performed outside of Minnehaha County. Marriage records from 1970 to the present can now be issued from any Register of Deeds Office in the State. At the present time anyone married prior to 1970 should contact the county in which they were married or the State Department of Health. (See state website http://www.state.sd.us/doh/ The cost of a certified copy of the marriage certificate is $10.00. If you wish to purchase a certified copy of the marriage license, please complete the necessary application form and provide proof of identity. If we find the record, you are issued a certified copy of the marriage certificate, however, if we do not find the record in our county, the Department of Health will issue, a "no record letter". If you do not know where a marriage license is filed, but you know the marriage occurred prior to 1970, please contact the State Department of Health, for assistance.

DEATH RECORDS

South Dakota Death records for deaths that have occurred after January 1, 1960, anywhere in the State of South Dakota, are now available through any Register of Deeds Office in the state. A certified death certificate can be issued from the Register of Deeds Office upon receipt of the required $10.00 fee. If the death occurred prior to January 1, 1960, a certified copy must be obtained from the county in which the death occurred.

In order to obtain a certified copy of a death certificate, the necessary application form must be completed and proof of identity provided. Please see “Forms” . The decedent’ s name must be provided, along with their date of death and other relevant information requested on the application. If we find the record, you are issued a copy of the death certificate and, if we do not find the record, you will receive a no-record letter from the State Department of Health.

BURIAL PERMITS

Burial Permits are records concerning a person' s buried. This record is only issued by the local Register of Deeds and the permit is filed in the county in which the deceased is buried. The burial permit may give the date of death, the person's name and location of burial. Some records will provide more information depending on the year. These records can be copied for you in an uncertified format with a cost of $1.00 per document. There are no restrictions for searching these records. If we do not find a record, we do not have to charge you a fee. (The burial permit records date back to the 1920s.)

Marriage License Requirements