South Dakota transportation laws
What South Dakota has enacted on transportation, what each law requires, and what the bills still moving would do. South Dakota is one of 41 states that enacted a transportation law in the 2025 and 2026 sessions.
- Bills in scope
- 9bills in scope
- Past committee
- 6past committee
- Most recent action
- 11 March 2026most recent action
Transportation laws enacted in South Dakota
6 transportation laws enacted in the South Dakota Legislature in the 2025 and 2026 sessions, newest first. Each links to the legislature's own page.
- SB 164require that any holder of a commercial driver license in this state must be proficient in the English language, and to provide a penalty therefor.Took effect 1 July 2026
What it requires: A person may not be issued a commercial driver license unless that person has demonstrated proficiency in the English language as required in 49 C.F.R. § 391.11. The department shall determine English language proficiency by administering all knowledge and skills tests in English. A law enforcement officer must determine whether a driver has sufficient English language proficiency when the driver is cited for a traffic offense or involved in a traffic accident.
Motor carriers and commercial drivers
What it requires: The department must issue nondomiciled commercial learner's permits or commercial driver licenses only to individuals with H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 visa status or domiciled in US territories with such visas. The department must query the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, retain application documents for two years, match expiration dates to form I-94 or I-94A, require in-person renewal with valid authorization evidence, and downgrade licenses when holders become ineligible.
Motor carriers and commercial drivers
- SB 10revise a provision related to the adoption of federal motor carrier regulations.Took effect 1 July 2026
What it requires: South Dakota adopts specified federal motor carrier safety and hazardous materials regulations as amended through January 1, 2026. Drivers and motor carriers must comply with these regulations, with modifications: intrastate operations are included; drivers must be at least twenty-one years old for interstate commerce or hazardous material transport, or eighteen years old otherwise.
Motor carriers and commercial drivers
- HB 1161allow additional forms to verify military service for a veteran designation on a commercial driver license or commercial learner's permit.Took effect 1 July 2025
What it requires: The Department of Motor Vehicles must indicate a veteran designation on a commercial driver license or commercial learner's permit if the licensee or permit holder is a veteran, has requested the designation, and has provided proof of military service and honorable discharge by submitting one of six specified documents: a county veterans service officer certificate, National Guard Form NGB-22, Uniformed Services Identification card, or military Forms DD-2, DD-2A, or DD-214.
Motor carriers and commercial drivers
What it requires: South Dakota adopts specified federal motor carrier regulations as amended through January 1, 2025, with modifications. Drivers and motor carriers must comply with these regulations, except intrastate operators of vehicles with two or fewer axles or gross vehicle weight rating not exceeding twenty-six thousand pounds not transporting hazardous materials or more than fifteen passengers are exempt from parts 390 to 397.
Motor carriers and commercial drivers
What it requires: Employers are subject to civil in rem proceedings for violations of subdivision 32-12A-5(4) and subdivision 32-12A-5(3). Drivers convicted of violating an out-of-service order pursuant to section 32-12A-8.1 are subject to civil penalties in addition to disqualification.
Motor carriers and commercial drivers
Transportation bills in South Dakota
The bills not yet law, furthest along first, with what each would do.
6Enacted
3Introduced or inactive
9 bills in scope
Introduced or inactive
3
What it would do: Increases civil penalties for commercial driver violations: raises the maximum penalty in § 32-12A-5.1 from $20,537 to $20,539; increases penalties in § 32-12A-56 for out-of-service order violations from $3,961/$7,924 to $3,963/$7,926; and raises the range in § 32-12A-57 from $7,155-$39,615 to $7,157-$39,617.
What it would do: Revises South Dakota's impaired driving laws for vehicles, boats, and aircraft by clarifying alcohol content thresholds, expanding prohibited substances to include marijuana and controlled drugs, and modifying legal presumptions regarding impairment levels.
What it would do: Requires commercial driver license applicants in South Dakota to demonstrate English language proficiency through knowledge and skills tests administered in English and an oral interview. Establishes penalties of Class 2 misdemeanor for first offense and Class 1 misdemeanor for subsequent offenses of operating a commercial vehicle without sufficient English proficiency.
Bill titles link to the South Dakota Legislature's own page.
What counts as transportation legislation
In scope: Motor carriers and commercial drivers; truck size, weight and road use; truck and fleet emissions; hazardous materials transport; freight rail; ports, maritime and freight corridors; warehouses and delivery; and autonomous trucks and delivery devices.
Questions
Does South Dakota have a transportation law?
Yes. South Dakota enacted 6 transportation laws in the 2025 and 2026 sessions, among them SB 164, SB 180 and SB 10. Each is listed on this page with what it requires.
When do South Dakota's transportation laws take effect?
SB 164 on 1 July 2026, SB 180 on 1 July 2026, SB 10 on 1 July 2026, HB 1161 on 1 July 2025 and SB 1 on 1 July 2025. The others have no single date in their text.
Are these summaries reviewed by a lawyer?
No. Which bills count as Transportation bills, and the line on what each law requires or each bill would do, are drafted by software from the bill's own text and not reviewed by an attorney. Every bill links to the legislature's own record: read the text before relying on it. The list covers bills from the 2025 and 2026 sessions.
Other practice areas in South Dakota
- AI in South Dakota6
- Alcohol in South Dakota9
- Cannabis in South Dakota22
- Children's Online Safety in South Dakota7
- Cybersecurity in South Dakota3
- Data center and energy in South Dakota14
- Data Privacy in South Dakota6
- Employment in South Dakota9
- Healthcare in South Dakota43
- Insurance in South Dakota21
- Intellectual Property in South Dakota2
- Packaging and PFAS in South Dakota2
- Payments and fintech in South Dakota6
- Rental housing in South Dakota3
- Tobacco and nicotine in South Dakota10
- All jurisdictions
Transportation legislation in other jurisdictions
52 more currently hold bills in this tracker
- Congress101
- New Jersey72
- Texas61
- New York49
- Missouri39
- Iowa34
- Oklahoma33
- California30
- Massachusetts30
- Louisiana25
- Illinois24
- Pennsylvania24
- Kentucky21
- Utah21
- Hawaii20
- Mississippi20
- Montana20
- Nebraska19
- Virginia18
- Maryland17
- Washington17
- New Mexico16
- Arizona15
- Tennessee15
- Connecticut14
- West Virginia14
- Minnesota13
- Oregon11
- Florida10
- Michigan10
- Rhode Island10
- Arkansas8
- Colorado7
- Georgia7
- Kansas7
- Maine7
- North Carolina7
- Wisconsin7
- South Carolina6
- Alaska5
- District of Columbia5
- Delaware5
- Wyoming5
- Indiana4
- New Hampshire4
- Nevada4
- Vermont4
- Alabama3
- North Dakota3
- Idaho2
- Puerto Rico2
- Ohio1
Know when South Dakota's transportation law changes
An alert when a bill moves, and one report a month on what changed in every state and Congress.