A Hardship Driver’s License in the State of South Dakota is a limited use driver’s license issued by the South Dakota Department of Motor Vehicles. The temporary hardship driver’s license allows you to drive a vehicle while your license is suspended or revoked for a drug or alcohol-related offense. While your driver’s license is suspended or revoked, you may be eligible to receive a hardship driver’s license. This will allow you to drive only to and from work, doctors’ appointments, court dates, traffic offender programs, or other state mandatory meetings. While maintaining a hardship driver’s license, the State of South Dakota may require you to carry a mandatory SR-22 insurance policy.
We recommend speaking with an attorney about the length of time you will need to carry an SR-22 insurance policy. The State of South Dakota may also require you to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle and complete a DUI program. Drivers with certain types of suspensions or revocations are required to keep and maintain SR-22 insurance. The SR-22 insurance must be carried for a minimum of 3 years following the date of the suspension or revocation and may be required for up to 5 years. New suspensions or revocations which also require SR-22 insurance will restart the requirement over from the date of the new action.
Cancellation of the SR-22 insurance may result in the suspension of the driving privileges. If your insurance company submits a cancellation or proposed cancellation of your SR-22 insurance, you or your insurance company must submit a new SR-22 form prepared after the cancellation notice. Below we have included information from the State of South Dakota to assist you with this process.
Reinstatement Process
A person whose license has been revoked or suspended is required by law to pay a license reinstatement fee in addition to the application fee when they are eligible to apply for a license. Vision, knowledge, and drive tests will be required following a revocation.
Insurance & Financial Responsibility
Any operator who has had his license revoked or suspended following a judgment, a conviction for no insurance, vehicular homicide, DUI, or second offense reckless driving in a one-year period must establish proof of financial responsibility for the future before he may drive or re-register any vehicle in this state. Most motorists provide proof of financial responsibility for the future by obtaining an SR22 insurance filing from their automobile insurance company.
A conviction for failure to maintain proof of financial responsibility is a Class 2 Misdemeanor (30 days imprisonment in a county jail, or $100 fine or both), driver license suspension for a period of not less than 30 days or more than one year, and filing proof of insurance (SR-22) with the state of South Dakota for three years from the date of eligibility for reinstatement. Failure to file proof of financial responsibility will result in the suspension of vehicle registration, license plates, and driver’s license.
We recommend you fill out our contact form. Once completed, an SR-22 insurance specialist will call or email you within 24 hours.
South Dakota Reinstating Your Driver’s License
Revoked or Suspended Driver’s License Info
The State of South Dakota law mandates that every automobile insurance policy sold in the state must have these minimum coverages:
Bodily Injury Liability
This coverage protects you against a claim which is made by someone who has been injured in an auto accident for which you are liable.
Example: If you have 25/50/25 liability coverage, the first two numbers tell you the amount your policy will pay for bodily injury due to an accident. The first ’25’ means the policy will pay up to $25,000 for anyone injured person. The ’50’ means the most the policy will pay for all persons injured in a single accident is $50,000.
Property Damage Liability
This coverage protects you against a claim for damages to another vehicle or property in an accident for which you are liable.
Using the earlier example, the third number in the 25/50/25 means the maximum amount the policy will pay for property damage in one single accident is $25,000.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UMI)
Uninsured motorist coverage is required for all policies. It pays you, resident members of your family and occupants of your auto for personal injuries caused by an uninsured motorist or a hit and run driver. No coverage for damage to your vehicle is provided.
Underinsured motorist coverage is very similar to Uninsured, except that the coverage is for personal injuries caused by a motorist with inadequate insurance. If a motorist has 25/50 coverage and you have 100/300 of underinsured motorist, your insurance will cover you once the medical costs exceed $25,000 (for one person) up to a maximum of $100,000 minus $25,000 of the other person’s liability, $75,000 of your uninsured motorist coverage.
These coverage are not “stackable”- if the medical bills exceed $100,000 in the above example, you cannot add the liable party’s $25,000 of the liability coverage and your $100,000 of underinsured coverage.
For additional information please contact https://dps.sd.gov/
Department of Public Safety (605) 773-3178
For Driver Licensing, call (605) 773-6883
118 West Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
Affordable SR-22 Insurance For The Entire State of South Dakota, including:
Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen, Brookings, Watertown, Mitchell, Yankton, Pierre, Huron, Spearfish, Vermillion, Box Elder, Brandon, Rapid Valley, Harrisburg, Sturgis, Madison, Tea, Belle Fourche, and Canton