South Dakota notary bonds.
Now optional — $75 if you want it.
Heads up: South Dakota no longer requires a notary bond. HB 1133 repealed the $5,000 bond requirement effective July 1, 2025, so a notary commission from the Secretary of State no longer needs one. If an employer, title company, or signing service still asks you to carry the $5,000 bond, we issue it at $75 flat — no credit check.
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How much does a South Dakota notary bond cost?
$75 at the $5,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
If you still want the bond, it's the simplest thing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Your name, residential county, and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
Notary bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase.
Hand it to whoever asked
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to give to the employer, title company, or signing service that requested it. Wet-ink original mailed on request. The Secretary of State no longer collects it.
What it is and who needs it.
What changed, and what the bond does
Through June 30, 2025, South Dakota required every notary to file a $5,000 surety bond before being commissioned. HB 1133 repealed that requirement effective July 1, 2025 — so a notary commission under SDCL Title 18, Chapter 18-1 no longer needs a bond. The application, oath of office, and $30 fee filed with the Secretary of State all remain; the bond does not.
Where the bond still shows up, it's by private contract, not state law. Employers, banks, title companies, and signing services sometimes require their notaries to carry a $5,000 bond as a condition of the work. If that's you, the bond is a consumer-protection guarantee: it covers people harmed by an improper or negligent notarization.
It's a three-party arrangement — you (the principal), the surety carrier, and whoever required it, with the public as the protected party. If a claim is paid, you repay the surety, so it is not personal insurance for you. If nobody is requiring it, you don't need to buy one. We'd rather tell you that than sell you a bond the state stopped asking for.
You might still want this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the $5,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The carrier issues this bond for a single 6-year term; the term cannot be changed at checkout.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
Pay & e-sign. Notary bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $75 at the $5,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check. And remember: the state no longer requires it.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other South Dakota bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Only if someone asked you for it.
South Dakota dropped the mandate July 1, 2025. If your employer or signing service still wants the $5,000 bond, it is $75 flat, issued in one sitting. Free until issued.