By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Quick answers for South Dakota CDL applicants
Use this page to answer the four searches most CDL applicants make before choosing a school or booking a test: what the state charges, which class of license the work needs, where the skills test is handled, and whether the state adds anything beyond federal ELDT.
- Published fee lines
- 4
- Skills testing
- approved examiners
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
- License class
- A, B or C, set by the truck
Amounts below come from South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Driver Licensing Program.
Use the agency testing notes below.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a South Dakota CDL costs
These are the license-side fees South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Driver Licensing Program publishes; training tuition is a separate, school-set cost covered in our CDL training cost guide. A line reading "Not confirmed" means the agency publishes no figure; the note beside it says what the agency does say.
- Commercial learner permit (CLP)
- The fee statute, SDCL 32-12A-15, prices the commercial driver license application, each endorsement knowledge test, and duplicates, but carries no separate commercial learner permit fee line, so none is recorded. SDCL 32-12A-12 caps the permit at one year and bars the skills test within the first fourteen days after issuance.Term: Up to one year; no renewal without retaking each knowledge and skills test
- Commercial driver license application
- $43 (Expires on the licensee's birthday in the fifth year following issuance)SDCL 32-12A-15 sets the application fee at forty-three dollars, credited to the state motor vehicle fund, and SDCL 32-12A-30 fixes the five-year term.
- Commercial driver license renewal
- $43 (Renewable beginning 180 days before expiration)Renewal runs through the same application process under SDCL 32-12A-31, so the application fee of SDCL 32-12A-15 applies. A hazardous materials endorsement does not survive renewal unless its written test is taken and passed again.
Endorsement fees
Endorsements ride on the base license; hazmat also carries a federal background check handled outside the license fee. Our hazmat endorsement guide covers that federal layer.
Other published fee lines
SDCL 32-12A-15 credits every fee collected to the state motor vehicle fund. No separate skills-test fee line appears in the statutes read, and the Driver Licensing pages could not be read as static text during this pass, so none is recorded.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: South Dakota issues licenses against these three rather than writing its own. Pick the class by the heaviest combination you will actually operate, because the skills test is taken in a vehicle of that class.
- Class A
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating or gross combination weight of 26,001 pounds or more (whichever is greater), inclusive of a towed unit or units with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of more than 10,000 pounds.
- Class B
- Any single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more, or such a vehicle towing a vehicle not exceeding 10,000 pounds GVWR or gross vehicle weight.
- Class C
- Any single vehicle or combination that does not meet Class A or B but is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver, or transports placarded hazardous materials or select agents.
- Which class a hotshot needs
- A hotshot combination needs a Class A CDL when the greater of its GCWR or actual combination weight reaches 26,001 pounds and the greater of the towed unit’s rating or actual weight exceeds 10,000 pounds. Check Class B for a heavy single vehicle and Class C for passenger or hazardous-material use. Federal registration requirements depend separately on the operation.
Endorsements ride on whichever class you hold; the hazmat endorsement guide covers the one carriers ask about most, and CDL versus non-CDL driving covers the boundary case of trucks that stay under the threshold. If the plan is a specific vehicle rather than a license, hotshot trucking and the box truck business guide walk what each one requires end to end.
Who gives the skills test in South Dakota
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- SDCL 32-12A-15 prices each endorsement knowledge test the Department administers, and SDCL 32-12A-12 sets a fourteen-day wait after CLP issuance before the skills test may be taken, with each successfully completed skills segment valid only during the initial permit. Who administers the skills test is not recorded here: the Driver Licensing pages render through a script portal that static fetches cannot read, and the statutes settle only the rules above.
Every applicant also needs a current medical certificate; our DOT physical guide covers the exam that produces it. Not sure your truck even needs a CDL? Start with CDL vs non-CDL.
The federal training rule, then South Dakota's position
Entry-level driver training (ELDT) is federal: it applies in every state before the tests it gates, and the training must come from a provider on FMCSA's registry. The full walkthrough lives in our how to get a CDL guide.
- Who must train
- First-time Class A or Class B applicants; Class B holders upgrading to Class A; First-time S, P, or H endorsement applicants
- Registry requirement
- Entry-level driver training means training received from an entity listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, completed before taking the CDL skills test for a first or upgraded Class A or Class B CDL, before the skills test for a first P or S endorsement, or before the knowledge test for a first H endorsement. You must complete training with a provider listed on the registry.
- States may add more
- States with training requirements that exceed the federal minimum standard may prohibit you from taking the skills test, or the knowledge test for the H endorsement, until you meet their state requirements as well as the federal ones. Federal rules also allow you to receive training and take the CDL skills test in a state other than the state you are licensed in.
Chapter 32-12A adopts the federal commercial driver standards by reference, and SDCL 32-12A-11 (as amended through the 2026 session) restates the federal knowledge-test standard of 49 CFR 383.25. Nothing in the statutes read adds a South Dakota training requirement on top of the federal entry-level driver training rule, so no state addition is recorded.
The official manual and where this fits
The knowledge tests come straight from the state's own manual, so study the agency's current edition: South Dakota Commercial Driver License Manual. The CDL licenses you as a driver; if the plan is your own trucks and your own freight, the business side runs on its own track through start a trucking company in South Dakota.
If you searched for South Dakota CDL requirements, go here next
Still deciding if you need a CDL?
Start with the vehicle weight and use case. The national guide explains the CDL threshold before you pay for a permit or training.
Compare CDL vs non-CDLReady to drive under your own authority?
The CDL is the driver credential. Operating authority, IRP, IFTA, insurance, and permits are the business credential stack.
See the South Dakota startup sequence