How Do Full Time RVers Register a Motorhome in South Dakota?

DOR says the Application for Motor Vehicle Title & Registration for a recreational vehicle must be completed and filed in the county of the applicant’s residence. Recreational vehicle titling and registration fees are processed through your local county treasurer’s office.

Your Best Address is not a county office or government agency. The county treasurer handles the transaction.

Source: South Dakota DOR, Recreational, Motorhomes & Converted Housecars

In plain English, DOR describes a motorhome as a vehicle designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use, built on or permanently attached to a self-propelled vehicle chassis, or on a chassis cab or van that is part of the completed vehicle.

DOR separately describes a recreational vehicle as a portable structure built on a chassis and designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation and vacation use. Travel trailers and other towed units may fall under different rules; see the DOR Trailers page.

Source: South Dakota DOR, Recreational, Motorhomes & Converted Housecars

Depending on your transaction, DOR guidance points to some or all of the following. Not every applicant needs every item.

• The existing title
• A completed Application for Motor Vehicle Title & Registration, signed by the record owner(s) or an authorized agent
• A Power of Attorney, if an authorized agent signs for the owner
• Purchase documents or a bill of sale, where applicable
• Lien information, where applicable
• The identification required for your transaction
• Your Social Security number, where required

Your county treasurer can confirm exactly what your transaction requires.

Source: South Dakota DOR, Recreational, Motorhomes & Converted Housecars

For out-of-state residents, DOR says you will need your original out-of-state title, a copy of your state driver license, your Social Security number and a completed title and registration application, taken to your county treasurer. DOR also cautions that your home state may prohibit registering your vehicle in another state.

For people moving to South Dakota with vehicles already titled and licensed in another state, DOR says you will be granted reciprocity and will not pay additional tax if your previous state’s tax rate is above South Dakota’s. If the previous state had no tax or a lower rate, you pay the difference. DOR says you have 90 days from your date of arrival to title and license your vehicle.

Transferring an existing out-of-state title is not necessarily the same transaction as titling a newly purchased motorhome. For newly purchased vehicles, DOR says registration is required within 45 days of the purchase date. For more detail, see the driver’s license section below.

Source: South Dakota DOR, Motor Vehicle

Not universally. Vehicle registration (DOR and county treasurers) and Driver Licensing (Department of Public Safety) are separate processes. DOR’s out-of-state process uses a copy of your state driver license. A valid South Dakota driver’s license or ID is specifically required for the online Vehicle Registration & Plates portal, including online renewal.

See when a South Dakota driver’s license is required for vehicle registration.

Source: South Dakota DOR, All Vehicles Title, Fees & Registration

Current DOR information lists items such as:

• Motor vehicle excise tax: 4% of the purchase price, where applicable
• Title fee: $10
• Lien notation fee: $10, where applicable
• Registration and license fees
• Possible mailing fees
• The $100 nonresident administrative fee, where applicable

License fees for motorhomes are determined under the current Non-Commercial Motorhome Fee Schedule (PDF) and processed through the county treasurer. DOR also notes that all fees are assessed from the purchase date. County fees can vary, so this article does not calculate a total.

Source: South Dakota DOR, All Vehicles Title, Fees & Registration

DOR currently assesses an additional $100 administrative fee, on top of the standard title application fee, when an individual titles a motor vehicle, off-road vehicle or snowmobile in South Dakota and has neither a South Dakota driver’s license or ID card nor a physical address in South Dakota.

DOR says P.O. boxes and mail forwarding addresses do not count as a physical South Dakota address for this specific fee. According to DOR, the fee does not apply to title corrections, duplicate titles, insurers taking title after paying a covered loss, manufacturers taking title due to a buy-back, or lienholders taking title following a repossession.

Read more in our guide to South Dakota vehicle registration without a South Dakota driver’s license .

Source: South Dakota DOR, All Vehicles Title, Fees & Registration

DOR says vehicle owners have 45 days to apply for title and registration of an acquired vehicle, and registrations are required within 45 days of the purchase date. DOR states there is no provision for extensions on the 45 day requirement, and interest and penalties will accrue on the motor vehicle excise tax. All fees are assessed from the purchase date, regardless of when you apply.

Source: South Dakota DOR, Motor Vehicle

If there is a lien on the motorhome, the lien information may need to be recorded as part of the title transaction. DOR lists a $10 lien notation fee and says lien notations must be made in the titled owner’s county of record. South Dakota also uses an Electronic Lien & Title system, and DOR says no paper title is printed while a lien is noted, unless an exception in state law applies.

Financed purchases may involve documents supplied by the dealer or lender. Check with them and your county treasurer about what your transaction needs.

Source: South Dakota DOR, All Vehicles Title, Fees & Registration

The DOR motorhome page says the title and registration application may be signed by an authorized agent for the record owner, as long as a Power of Attorney document is attached to verify the appointment. That does not mean every transaction can be completed without the owner. Ask your county treasurer what applies to your situation.

Source: South Dakota DOR, Recreational, Motorhomes & Converted Housecars

A fifth wheel or travel trailer is towed, not self-propelled, so it is a trailer, not a motorhome. South Dakota handles trailer title, registration and fees under its separate trailer rules. DOR says license fees on trailers are determined under the Non-Commercial Trailer License Fee Schedule, not the motorhome fee schedule, and are processed through the county treasurer.

Source: South Dakota DOR, Trailers

It depends on the type of trailer and the vehicle towing it. DOR says owners of trailers used with automobiles, pickups and vans weighing less than 6,000 pounds must purchase a regular annual trailer plate. DOR also describes a trailer identification plate that may be used when a trailer is pulled by a truck licensed under the declared gross weight schedule or a commercial licensed vehicle.

This article does not decide which applies to a particular fifth wheel or travel trailer. See the DOR Trailers page for current plate and fee information, or ask your county treasurer.

A separately titled car, truck, SUV or other vehicle that you tow behind your motorhome, or use to tow an RV, is its own vehicle transaction. Registering a motorhome or trailer does not automatically register the tow vehicle. Learn about our vehicle registration assistance.

No, not by itself. Motor vehicle registration, Driver Licensing, voter registration and broader domicile questions are separate. See our South Dakota Residency guide, read residency vs. domicile for full time travelers, and learn how full time RVers establish South Dakota residency.

The South Dakota DOR title and registration information used for this guide does not list proof of insurance among the standard motorhome title documents. That does not mean insurance is optional. Insurance and financial responsibility requirements are separate, so confirm your coverage before operating the vehicle.

Not every applicant needs every item, but it helps to have ready:

• Current title or ownership documentation, when applicable
• South Dakota title and registration application
• Purchase documents, when applicable
• Lien information, when applicable
• Identification required for the transaction
• Social Security or customer information, where required
• Power of Attorney, if an authorized agent will sign
• Funds for applicable taxes and fees
• Current insurance arrangements
• Any instructions from the applicable county treasurer

• Assuming a South Dakota driver’s license is always required first
• Confusing a motorhome with a fifth wheel or travel trailer
• Waiting too long to complete title paperwork after purchase
• Forgetting lien information
• Assuming a mail forwarding address is a physical South Dakota address for the $100 nonresident fee
• Assuming vehicle registration establishes residency for every purpose
• Assuming a tow vehicle is included automatically
• Relying on an RV forum instead of current DOR requirements

A mail forwarding address still has other permitted uses. For example, read about using a South Dakota mail forwarding address for a driver’s license.

Your Best Address offers vehicle registration assistance for eligible clients who maintain the required YBA mailbox service. We help full time travelers organize and coordinate the administrative registration process within our service scope. YBA does not issue titles, registrations or plates, is not a county treasurer or the South Dakota Department of Revenue, and cannot promise approval.

Your motorhome registration is its own administrative process. Gather the ownership documents, determine which county process applies, complete the title and registration application, and account for the applicable taxes and fees.

Your driver’s license, residency setup, motorhome registration and any trailer or tow vehicle registrations may interact, but they are not the same transaction.