South Dakota Workers’ Comp Exemption
We file workers’ compensation exemptions for South Dakota sole proprietors, LLC members, and corporate officers. Send us your details and we’ll confirm whether you qualify and handle the filing.
When coverage is required in South Dakota
South Dakota does not set a minimum employee-count threshold for private employers. Under SDCL 62-3-3, every employer and employee is presumed to have accepted the Workers' Compensation title unless an exception applies (SDCL 62-3-4 to 62-3-5.1). 'Employee' under SDCL 62-1-3 excludes any person whose work is not in the usual course of the employer's trade or business. No employer-size safe harbor was found in the statutes reviewed; treat South Dakota as requiring coverage once an employer has one or more common-law employees, subject to the independent-contractor and casual-labor exclusions in SDCL 62-1-3.
Who can be excluded in South Dakota
Sole proprietors
Not automatically an 'employee' under SDCL 62-1-3 (the statute covers a person 'in the services of another'), so a sole proprietor is not required to carry coverage on themselves. SDCL 62-1-3 does allow 'an employer performing labor incidental to the employer's occupation' to purchase workers' compensation insurance and be deemed an employee for coverage purposes -- i.e., election is by purchasing a policy that includes the owner, not by a separate state filing.
Partners
Same treatment as sole proprietors under SDCL 62-1-3 (excluded by default from the 'employee' definition; may elect coverage by purchasing/endorsing a policy to include the partner). No state-filed exemption or election certificate was located.
LLC members
Not verified. The only self-executing rejection mechanism found in statute (SDCL 62-3-5.1) refers specifically to an 'executive officer of a corporation,' not to LLC members. Secondary (non-official) sources claim LLC members are treated the same as corporate officers, but no South Dakota statute or DLR page confirming that was located in this research. Confirm directly with SD Department of Labor & Regulation before publishing anything specific about LLC members.
Corporate officers
Corporate officers are covered ('employees') by default. SDCL 62-3-5.1 lets an 'executive officer of a corporation' reject coverage by serving written notice -- personally or by certified mail -- on the corporation itself, either at the time of the officer's election/appointment or more than 30 days before an injury, death, or (for occupational disease under ch. 62-8) 30 days before contracting the disease. The rejection can later be withdrawn the same way. This is a private notice to the corporation, not a filing with any state agency, and the statute text located does not impose a cap on the number of officers who may reject coverage (a secondary source claimed a cap exists but this could not be confirmed in the statute itself -- treat that claim as unverified).
How the exemption is filed
There is no state-run exemption certificate or registry in South Dakota (unlike Tennessee). Sole proprietors/partners obtain coverage for themselves affirmatively through their insurance policy if they want it (no filing to go without it). Corporate officers who want to be excluded reject coverage by written notice served on their own corporation per SDCL 62-3-5.1 -- no state agency, form, or fee was identified for this process.
- Form
- No state exemption form — see above
- Statute
- SDCL 62-1-3; SDCL 62-3-3; SDCL 62-3-4; SDCL 62-3-5; SDCL 62-3-5.1
- Market
- Competitive — coverage is bought from a private carrier.
Notes and open questions
South Dakota runs on the 'excluded by default, may elect coverage via the policy' model for sole proprietors and partners, and a 'covered by default, may reject via private notice' model for corporate officers -- there is no state exemption certificate/registry comparable to Tennessee's. The official DLR 'South Dakota Workers' Compensation Law' guide PDF (dlr.sd.gov/workers_compensation/publications/wclawguide_book.pdf) could not be read (corrupted/garbled extraction) so it was not used as a source; all claims here rest on the SDCL sections fetched directly from the SD Legislature's statute API. LLC-member treatment and any construction-industry-specific rule are NOT verified -- do not publish specifics on those without confirming with SD DLR (605-773-3681) first.
Sources
- https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/62-1-3.html?all=true
- https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/62-3-3.html?all=true
- https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/62-3-4.html?all=true
- https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/62-3-5.html?all=true
- https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/62-3-5.1.html?all=true
- https://dlr.sd.gov/workers_compensation/coverage_independent_contractor.aspx
Source material dated undated (current codified statute text as retrieved 2026-08-30). Compiled from official South Dakota sources as a starting point, not legal advice — rules change, and your situation may turn on facts this page cannot see. Confirm with South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Division of Labor and Management -- Workers' Compensation or ask us and we’ll check it for you.
Workers' comp exemption filing in South Dakota
Tell us about your South Dakota business and we'll confirm whether you qualify for an exemption.