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A Teen Driver's License

SDCL § 32-12-11 — an instruction permit from fourteen years of age, then fifty hours supervised, and a restricted minor's permit with hours and passenger limits

A person at least fourteen years of age but less than eighteen years of age starts with an instruction permit, after passing every part of the examination but the driving test.

  • SDCL § 32-12-11
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  • Driving from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a licensed driver at least eighteen years of age, with a year of experience, in the seat beside.
  • Driving from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. only under the direction of a parent or guardian in the seat beside.
  • No wireless communication device of any type while driving.
  • SDCL § 32-12-11

Before the next step. For a permit issued after July 1, 2020, the holder waits two hundred seventy-five days and drives fifty hours supervised, ten of them in bad weather and ten at night, with a parent's written word that it was done.

  • SDCL § 32-12-11

A restricted minor's permit allows driving from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a parent's permission, and from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. only with a parent or guardian beside. A driver education course shortens the wait to one hundred eighty continuous days.

  • SDCL § 32-12-12

Passengers. For the first six months, no passengers but immediate family or household members. After that, no more than one passenger under the age of eighteen years who is not family or household, unless a parent or an adult household member is along.

  • SDCL § 32-12-12.5

A parent or guardian signs the application of anyone under eighteen. A particular case is a question for a licensed South Dakota attorney.

  • SDCL § 32-12-6
Sources for this section (4)
  1. SDCL § 32-12-11 — Application for license or permit; Persons at least fourteen and less than eighteen; Instruction permit; Restrictions
  2. SDCL § 32-12-12 — Restricted minor's permit; Restrictions on operation
  3. SDCL § 32-12-12.5 — Restricted Minor's Permit; Passenger Limit
  4. SDCL § 32-12-6 — Minors under age of eighteen; Authorization by parental authority

Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Dakota attorney.

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