Would you like to know more about the South Dakota liquor laws and regulations? If you do, then you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll be providing you with a breakdown of South Dakota’s main laws and regulations surrounding liquor. Read on!

Legal Age Liquor Laws

Before we get any further into this guide, let’s first take a moment to breakdown the main legal age laws:

• In South Dakota, it is legal to sell alcohol (this includes beverages and other alcohol products) to those that are aged between 18-20. However, keep in mind that this is only legal if they are in the immediate presence of a parent, spouse or guardian who is above the age of 21 or older.
• In South Dakota, it is legal for retail establishments that serve alcoholic beverages (and other alcohol products) to refuse to serve alcohol to anyone that is either under the age of 21, or appears under the age of 21 and does not have any ID to be able to prove otherwise.
• In South Dakota, it is illegal to serve alcohol to any person that is under the age of 18. This rule stands even if the individual that is trying to purchase the alcohol is in the immediate presence of a parent, spouse or guardian that is at least 21 years of age or older than that.
• The legal age to sell and serve alcoholic beverages and other alcoholic products in South Dakota is 21 years of age. However, it is legal for those under the age of 21 (but no younger than 18) to serve alcohol in a licensed establishment or premises where there is a licensee or at the least an employee that is at least 21 years of age.
• Last but not least, it is illegal in South Dakota for someone who is younger than at least 21 years of age to loiter on the licensed premises of an on-sale alcohol licensee. This means that loitering under the age of 21 in any of these types of establishments is illegal.

These are just the basic rules surrounding legal age laws in South Dakota. If you would like to discover more information about South Dakota legal drinking age and other information (such as the consequences of selling or serving minors and much more) then we recommend that you click here to discover more – this page has everything that you need!

When Is Alcohol Allowed To Be Served, Sold And Consumed In South Dakota?

At the time of writing this guide, alcohol is allowed to be served, sold and consumed in the state of South Dakota between the hours of 7am to 2am.

However, as a side note, despite the fact that this is the general rule of the state, certain municipalities and counties within the South Dakota borders can be permitted to sanction more strict rules and regulations surrounding the times in which alcohol can be served, sold and consumed throughout the day.

South Dakota Distillery Rules And Regulations

It is legal for people and businesses to have their own distilleries in South Dakota. However, certain licenses and permits will be required to have one legally, which we’ll be exploring in further detail in our next section.

As well as this, it is also important to note that, while it is legal to own a distillery for liquor, it is prohibited to use a still to make or distill moonshine.

South Dakota State Fees And Licensing Laws

For anyone that wishes to sell alcoholic beverages in South Dakota, a variety of licenses might be required. Let’s take a look at the main licensing requirements for prospective licensees and establishments below, including state fees:

On-Sale License (Outside of City)

This is the first license that is available in South Dakota, and it is suitable for anyone that wishes to sell alcoholic beverages including wine, spirits and beer for customers to consume on a licensed premises. Keep in mind, this license is only appropriate for those outside of the city limits.

In order to discover the cost and availability of the licenses, it is recommended that those interested contact their local county auditor for further assistance. Click here for more information.

On-Sale License (Within City Limits)

This license is exactly the same as the one above, the only difference is that this particular license is only suitable for licensees and establishments that wish to sell alcohol within the city limits. For those interested, it is recommended that the local finance officer is contacted for current costs and more information on the application process.

Package Off-Sale Liquor License

This is one of the most common licenses required by retail establishments. To put simply, this license is required by anyone that is planning on selling alcoholic beverages by the pack to customers that are wanting to purchase from the establishment and then proceed to consume the alcohol off of the premises.

Unlike the other licenses that we have mentioned above, this particular license may only be issued for use in an incorporated town ,city or community improvement district or county.

If you are interested in learning more about this package off-sale liquor license and how to acquire it (as well as the cost) it is recommended that you speak with your county auditor or finance officer for more information.

These are just some of the main licenses currently required within South Dakota. There are a variety of additional licenses available for wine retailers, airports wishing to sell alcohol and more licenses. If you would like to learn more about these licenses, please click here to learn more.

In addition to all of the above, it’s also important to keep in mind that, at the time of writing in South Dakota, when one license gets revoked all licenses that the establishment or licensee may have will also be suspended/revoked.

So, to give you an idea of what we mean by this, if the state deemed that it was necessary to revoke a retail establishment’s lottery license, then the alcohol license that the establishment also has will be immediately revoked/suspended, along with the first license.

Wrapping Up

We’ve made it to the end of the guide! If you’ve made it this far, we hope that we have been able to give you a better understanding of the current rules and regulations surrounding liquor in South Dakota. Thank you for reading, and bye for now.