Points on License

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South Dakota license points

15 points in 12 months

What the rule says happens: is subject to driver license or driving privilege suspension

Any motor vehicle operator is subject to driver license or driving privilege suspension who, in accordance with the schedule provided in § 32-12-49.1, has been convicted of traffic violations resulting in the accumulation of fifteen points within any twelve consecutive months

Points for each violation

Violation, in South Dakota’s wordingPoints
Driving while intoxicated10
Reckless driving8
Eluding/attempting to elude a police officer6
Drag racing6
Failure to yield right - of - way4
Improper passing4
Driving on wrong side of roadway4
Stop sign/light violation3
Other moving offenses2

These are the lines we have. South Dakota’s full schedule is at the source links and may list more.

Sources for these lines, word for word

(1) Driving while intoxicated ten points

(2) Reckless driving eight points

(3) Eluding/attempting to elude a police officer six points

(4) Drag racing six points

(5) Failure to yield right - of - way four points

(6) Improper passing four points

(7) Driving on wrong side of roadway four points

(8) Stop sign/light violation three points

(9) Other moving offenses two points

When points lead to a suspension or other action

PointsWithinThe rule’s wordingWhat happensApplies to
1512 monthssee the ruleis subject to driver license or driving privilege suspensionsee the rule
2224 monthssee the ruleis subject to a driver license suspensionsee the rule

Whether a rule means that many points or more, or more than that many, is in the rule’s own words below.

The rules, word for word

Any motor vehicle operator is subject to driver license or driving privilege suspension who, in accordance with the schedule provided in § 32-12-49.1, has been convicted of traffic violations resulting in the accumulation of fifteen points within any twelve consecutive months

Any operator who accumulates 15 points in any 12 consecutive months, or 22 points in any 24 consecutive months, is subject to a driver license suspension.

How long points last

In determining whether a driver license or privilege should be suspended or revoked under this section, the director may not consider any offense that is more than four years old.

Which date counts

What it means for a particular case is for the agency to say.

has been convicted of traffic violations resulting in the accumulation of fifteen points within any twelve consecutive months, or twenty - two points within any twenty - four consecutive months

Tickets from other states

Points are assessed on out-of-state convictions just as if they were committed in South Dakota.

The point system itself

The following is a listing of moving traffic offenses and the number of points assessed for a conviction for each offense:

More from South Dakota’s rules

For the purpose of this section, "other moving offenses" does not include speeding offenses.

No points will be assessed for speeding, standing, parking, equipment, size or weight violations

When multiple offenses arise out of a single incident, points will be assessed on the offense carrying the highest point value.

Upon operator’s request, a hearing is provided before suspension.

(1) First suspension--sixty days; (2) Second suspension--six months; and (3) Subsequent suspension--one year.

How nearby states compare

Side by side, not like for like. Read each state’s own rule before comparing two of them.

Check a ticket in South Dakota

Reference only, not legal or insurance advice. Confirm with the agency. Full statement.

What this adds up, and what it can’t say
  • This is arithmetic on quoted values, and nothing else. It does not predict any outcome.
  • The date a state counts from (the violation date or the conviction date) is as quoted. The calculator does not decide it: it uses the date entered for each line.
  • Courts and agencies decide actual outcomes, under the full text of the law and the full driving record, which this page does not have.
  • Insurance companies use their own separate systems. This calculator works out nothing about insurance.
  • A printed figure is compared with a sum only where the same quoted passage prints a period. The comparison says below, equal to or above. Whether a passage means that figure or more, or more than that figure, is in the passage’s own words.
  • How periods are counted here is this calculator’s own convention, not a rule from any source. Months and years are calendar months and years counted back from the date chosen. Where the earlier month is shorter, its last day is used. The day reached is the period’s first day, and a line dated on that first day is outside the period. A line dated on the date chosen is inside. For example, a period of one month ending March 31, 2026 has the first day February 28, 2026, so a line dated that day is not counted and a line dated the day after is. An agency may count differently.
  • Nothing typed here leaves this page or is stored.

The checker has only the violations in the table above.

Sources for South Dakota

Official pages we asked for and don’t quote

What a plain request to each page got on November 12, 2026. The page names are ours. Nothing is said about what a page holds beyond the counts shown, and a count says nothing about what the page means.
Official pageWhat the request got
the Department of Public Safety's point system pageThe answer had no text our reader could use.
the Department of Public Safety's South Dakota Driver Point System articleThe answer had no text our reader could use.
the Legislature's reader page for SDCL 32-12-49.1The answer had no text our reader could use.

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