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State Cert Guide

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How do I get a real estate license in South Dakota?

If you're starting out, South Dakota's broker associate license takes a course of at least 116 hours, an exam score of 75% and an approved application. You must be at least 18. You must also be a U.S. citizen or live in South Dakota. A responsible broker license has other rules.

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The rule, fact by fact

Course hours
A pre-licensing course of at least 116 hoursThat is the course for broker associates.
Verified. South Dakota Real Estate Commission · Approved pre-licensing education (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Licensing exam
Exam score of 75% and approval of the applicationA responsible broker license needs the same score.
Verified. South Dakota Real Estate Commission · License types and requirements (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Minimum age
At least 18, a U.S. citizen or South Dakota resident, and meeting statutory requirementsThey apply to anyone who applies for a license.
Same source and date as above
Post-licensing hours
Sixty hours in prescribed subjects, thirty in each of your first two licensing periodsThese hours also count toward the training you need to renew.
Verified. South Dakota Codified Laws · 36-21A-30.2, education after initial licensure (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check the basics. You must be at least 18 and a U.S. citizen or a South Dakota resident. You must also meet the statutory requirements for a license.

  2. Step 2. Finish a pre-licensing course of at least 116 hours. Independent study and distance courses count when the Commission approves them. Ask the school if it has that approval before you pay.

  3. Step 3. Get an exam score of 75%. The Commission also wants your application approved.

  4. Step 4. After your first license, finish sixty class hours of approved courses in the prescribed subjects by your second active renewal deadline. Thirty come in your first active licensing period and thirty in the second.

Before you pay

This page rests on the South Dakota Real Estate Commission's license types and pre-licensing education pages and on three South Dakota statutes. We haven't confirmed the license fee, the exam fee or what a course costs.

Before you pay a school, check that it is on the Commission's list of approved pre-licensing schools. Ask how long your access lasts.

Questions

I'm licensed in another state. Do I start over?

Maybe not. If you hold a license in the state where you live and are moving to South Dakota, you may get the equivalent license. The same goes if you already moved here and still hold it. Send a certificate from that state showing good standing when you apply.

Can the Commission turn down my application?

It can. The Commission may deny a license for reasons such as a felony conviction, unpaid judgments or misstatements.

What is a broker associate?

South Dakota's license law defines a broker associate as a broker acting in association with, or under the auspices of, a responsible broker.

What does a responsible broker license take?

Beyond the broker associate rules, the Commission lists 2 years of active status and a 24-hour responsible broker course. This page covers the broker associate license.

What to do next

Start with the South Dakota Real Estate Commission's list of approved pre-licensing schools. It lists schools by city, and the schools that teach by distance learning.

dlr.sd.gov

Sources we read