DUI in South Dakota: the law, the limits and the device
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South Dakota calls it DUI — driving under the influence, and you will see drunk driving used for the same offense. What follows is what this state sets, taken from its own published rules rather than from a national summary.
What South Dakota law actually requires
South Dakota leans on the 24/7 Sobriety Program rather than the interlock. It began as a pilot in January 2005 and now runs through 67 participating agencies — police departments, sheriffs’ offices and the Unified Judicial System — with the stated goal of sobriety around the clock rather than a device in one car.
- First offense: Set by the court or supervising agency; the interlock is ordered case by case rather than by a fixed statutory term
- Lockout threshold: Set by the device supplied by an approved vendor
- Program run by: The court or supervising agency, with the 24/7 program run by the Attorney General
Source: atg.sd.gov, checked 2026-08-23
DUI vs DUI in South Dakota
In South Dakota there is one offense and one label. If you have seen DWI, OWI or OVI used elsewhere, that is another state’s vocabulary for the same conduct — nothing about the seriousness changes when you cross a state line, only the letters on the paperwork.
Whatever it is called, the licensing consequence is the same shape: a suspension, then the device as the condition of driving again. All six abbreviations, side by side →
Can you get a DUI on a bike or a horse in South Dakota?
It turns on one word in the statute. Where the law says “vehicle”, no engine is required and the charge can reach a bicycle, a horse or a mobility scooter. Where it says “motor vehicle”, the analysis is different. This is decided by your state’s own wording, not by national custom, and it is the first thing to check before assuming a bike ride home is safe.
How often this happens in South Dakota
Federal crash records show the scale the state is legislating against, and how it compares with the country.
Cases are heard where the stop happened, and volume shapes local practice. These SD counties record the most:
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2020–2022. Counts crashes where police recorded that a driver had been drinking, which is narrower than the federal 0.08 measure and therefore understates the real figure. South Dakota runs above the national share.
What it costs to get driving again in South Dakota
South Dakota does not publish a price cap we could verify, so the quote is the number and your only leverage is a competitor nearby. The national reference points are installation and a monthly fee, with calibration visits every 30 to 60 days.
South Dakota costs, providers and all 8 cities with centers →
The two clocks in South Dakota
The court case and the licensing case run separately. The licensing side moves first, and in the strictest states the window to request a hearing is measured in days — it runs whether or not you have hired anyone.
South Dakota cities
The county that hears your case is set by where the stop happened, and local practice differs across the state.
DUI questions in South Dakota
Is it called DUI or DUI in South Dakota?
South Dakota uses DUI — driving under the influence. You will also see drunk driving used for the same thing. The label follows the state, not the seriousness of what happened, so paperwork from elsewhere may say something different about identical conduct.
What is the legal limit in South Dakota?
0.08% for drivers 21 and over, as in every state except Utah, which sits at 0.05%. Below the limit you can still be charged if an officer documents impairment. The reading that triggers the interlock here is a separate number: Set by the device supplied by an approved vendor
How long does the interlock stay on after a first offense in South Dakota?
Set by the court or supervising agency; the interlock is ordered case by case rather than by a fixed statutory term The program is run by The court or supervising agency, with the 24/7 program run by the Attorney General.
Can you get a DUI on a horse or a bicycle in South Dakota?
The answer is in whether the statute says “vehicle” or “motor vehicle”. Where it says vehicle, no engine is needed and the charge can reach a bike or a horse; where it says motor vehicle, it cannot. This is one of the most searched questions in the whole subject and one of the most confidently answered wrongly — the wording of your own state decides it.
A second DUI here →When a DUI is a felony in South Dakota →A first DUI here →
When a charge becomes a felony → The test and the refusal → SR-22 and FR-44 →
Attorney advertising. InterlockDeviceNearMe is not a law firm, does not practice law, and does not give legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. Requesting a consultation connects you with an independent attorney or a legal referral service, who decide separately whether to take your case. Case outcomes depend on facts we do not know, and no result is ever promised. Deadlines in DUI cases are short and vary by state — speak to a licensed attorney in your state before relying on anything you read here.