MarriageLicenseCheck

Minnehaha County marriage license

Issued by the Minnehaha County Register of Deeds

To marry in Minnehaha County, you apply to the Minnehaha County Register of Deeds. There, both applicants must appear together and the license is valid throughout the state.

Fee
$40
Waiting period
NoneMarry the same day
License valid
90 daysFrom issuance
Both must appear
YesTogether, at the same time

Reviewed July 30, 20265 official sourcesSee sources

Where to apply

Minnehaha County Register of Deeds

Apply online
No

The Register of Deeds publishes no online or mail application. The forms are completed at the counter and signatures are captured electronically there.

Official requirement

The applicants are required to appear in person at the Register of Deeds office, show proof of identification and age, complete marriage license application forms, and have their signatures to their applications captured electronically.

Apply in person
Yes

The Register of Deeds is at 415 N Dakota Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57104.

Official requirement

If you wish to obtain a marriage license, please arrive at the Register of Deeds office no later than 4:45 pm.

When to apply

We will work out when you can apply. We never ask for names, dates of birth or any other personal detail.

Who must appear

Both applicants
Yes
Official requirement

The applicants are required to appear in person at the Register of Deeds office, show proof of identification and age, complete marriage license application forms, and have their signatures to their applications captured electronically.

Residency

This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.

The Register of Deeds publishes no residency requirement either way. It states separately that a South Dakota license may be obtained from any county's Register of Deeds, which is a rule about which office may issue, not about where applicants live.

Not published by this office

Identification and personal information

We list what the office says it may ask for. We never collect any of it.

Identification
  • Proof of identification and age for both applicants
  • Examples given: a valid U.S.-issued driver's license, passport, or tribal I.D.
  • Names, addresses, birth information and Social Security numbers are collected on the application worksheets

The office does not publish a closed list and asks applicants to call if they are unsure which documents will prove identity and age.

Official requirement

Examples of acceptable forms of identification include a valid U.S. issued driver's license, passport, tribal I.D., etc.

Social Security number
Social Security numbers are among the personal details collected on the marriage application worksheets.

The office does not say whether the card itself must be produced.

Official requirement

Various personal information is required when completing the marriage application worksheets, such as names, addresses, birth information, social security numbers, and other statistical information.

Age
Both applicants must be 18 or older.

State law sets 16 as the absolute floor: no license may be issued below that age.

Official requirement

Both applicants must be 18 years of age or older in order to obtain a South Dakota marriage license.

Applicants under 18
An applicant aged 16 or 17 needs a circuit court order finding the marriage voluntary and in the minor's best interest, and written, notarized consent submitted to the Register of Deeds from two parents of each minor or each minor's legal guardian. No license may be issued if the applicants' ages differ by more than four years.

The Register of Deeds' own page still describes a simpler rule — consent from a parent or legal guardian — which is narrower than current state law. See the conflict note. The county provides a Parental Consent for Marriage form on its Register of Deeds forms page.

Applies in some cases

Applicants 16 or 17 years of age require: A circuit court order following a determination by the court that the marriage is voluntary and in the best interest of the minor applicant(s). Written and notarized consent from two parents of each minor or legal guardian of each minor.

Prior-marriage documents

If a marriage ended

This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.

The Register of Deeds publishes no requirement to produce a divorce decree, annulment order or death certificate from a previous marriage. That is not the same as there being no requirement — ask the office before you travel.

Not published by this office

Fee and payment

Fee
$40

Certified copies of the marriage certificate are a separate $15.00 each, and that fee is retained as a search fee even if no record is found.

Official requirement

There is a cash fee of $40.00 required for a South Dakota marriage license.

Payment methods
  • Cash only — the office does not accept credit cards, debit cards or checks for the license fee

Cards are accepted for copies of vital records (with an additional expedient fee), but not for the marriage license itself.

Official requirement

We are unable to accept credit cards, debit cards or checks for this fee.

Waiting period and expiration

Waiting period
None

This is the statewide rule published by the South Dakota Department of Health. The Register of Deeds states only that the ceremony may be performed after the license has been issued.

Official requirement

No blood test or waiting period required.

Waiver

This does not apply here.

South Dakota has no waiting period, so there is nothing to waive.

Not applicable here
License expires
90 days

State law puts it the other way round: the license becomes void unless the marriage is solemnized within ninety days following issuance.

Official requirement

Effective July 1, 2020, a marriage license must be used within 90 days of issuance or the license will expire.

Where it is valid
Valid anywhere in South Dakota. A South Dakota license cannot be used for a ceremony in another state.

The office also states: "The ceremony must be performed within the state of South Dakota, since a South Dakota marriage license cannot be used in any other state."

Official requirement

A South Dakota marriage license is effective throughout the entire state. Therefore, a South Dakota marriage license may be obtained from any South Dakota county Register of Deeds, and the ceremony then performed in the same county or any other county within the state, regardless of which county the license may have been issued in.

Witness and ceremony notes

Witnesses
State law assumes two witnesses: before the ceremony the person solemnizing the marriage must establish their names and places of residence, along with the identity of the couple.

The Register of Deeds publishes no witness requirement of its own; this is the statewide rule in SDCL 25-1-32.

Official requirement

Before performing the marriage ceremony, the person solemnizing a marriage shall ascertain by personal knowledge or by requesting a photographic identification: (1) The identity of the parties; (2) Their real and full names and places of residence; and (3) The names and places of residence of the two witnesses.

Officiant

This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.

The Register of Deeds publishes nothing about who may perform the ceremony, and does not advertise ceremonies at its own office. Who may solemnize a marriage in South Dakota is set by state law, not by this office.

Not published by this office

Returning and recording the license

After the ceremony

This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.

The Register of Deeds does not publish a deadline or procedure for returning the completed license after the ceremony. It states only that it holds Minnehaha County marriage records back to 1872, and that certificates for South Dakota marriages from 1950 onward can be issued by any Register of Deeds office in the state.

Not published by this office
Processing

This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.

The office does not publish how long issuing a license takes. It asks applicants who want a license to arrive no later than 4:45 pm, which implies a same-visit process but does not state one.

Not published by this office

Ordering the certified record afterwards is a separate request: official certified copy page

Access and language

Published notes

This office does not publish this. Confirm with them directly before relying on it.

Minnehaha County publishes no accessibility statement or language-assistance information covering its Register of Deeds pages.

Not published by this office

Common questions

How much does a marriage license cost in Minnehaha County?
The fee is $40, set by the Minnehaha County Register of Deeds.
Is there a waiting period for a marriage license in Minnehaha County?
No. There is no waiting period — the license can be used as soon as it is issued.
How long is a Minnehaha County marriage license valid?
The license is valid for 90 days from issuance. A ceremony after that date requires a new license.
Do both partners have to appear in person in Minnehaha County?
Yes. Both applicants must appear together to complete the application.

Each answer restates the verified rule above; the official wording and sources are in the numbered sections.

Sources and reviewed date

Every fact above is quoted from one of these pages. Reviewed July 30, 2026.

  1. Marriage License RequirementsMinnehaha County Register of Deeds · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
  2. Register of DeedsMinnehaha County Register of Deeds · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
  3. Vital RecordsMinnehaha County Register of Deeds · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-30
  4. Marriage RequirementsSouth Dakota Department of Health, Vital Records · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-30
  5. SDCL Chapter 25-1 — Validity and Performance of MarriagesSouth Dakota Legislature · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-30

Recorded conflicts

  • The Register of Deeds' marriage page states that an applicant aged 16 to 18 needs "a consent ... from a parent or legal guardian of the applicant". That is narrower than current state law. SDCL 25-1-13, as amended in 2026, and the Department of Health's marriage requirements page (content last updated 1 July 2026) both require a circuit court order finding the marriage voluntary and in the minor's best interest AND written, notarized consent from two parents of each minor or each minor's legal guardian, and bar issuance where the applicants' ages differ by more than four years. The current statewide rule is recorded.
  • Wedding-industry and license-lookup sites still describe a South Dakota license as taking effect 24 hours after issuance and lasting 20 days. Neither figure appears on the Register of Deeds page, on the Department of Health's marriage requirements page, or in SDCL 25-1-24, which sets a ninety-day life and no waiting period. The official figures are recorded.
  • The Minnehaha County web server returns HTTP 403 to command-line fetches with a browser user-agent; the pages were read in a browser instead. This is a bot filter, not a broken link.

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