12/30/10

South Dakota

COUNTY CODES

Map Courtesy of Digital-Topo-Maps.com

Note: You may also click here to see Quick Facts about all of the counties.

County codes:   South Dakota has 66 counties.  However, when county coding was introduced in 1925, there were 69 counties.  In 1943, Washington County became part of Shannon County, and in 1954, Armstrong County was combined with Dewey County.  In 1976, Washabaugh County became part of Jackson County.

From 1925 through 1975, South Dakota used numerical prefixes to indicate the county of issue.  From f1925 through 1955, Minnehaha, the most populous county, was given #1, and the remaining counties were numbered in alphabetical order.  In Minnehaha County, plates with a "1" prefix were issued to residents of Sioux Falls, and plates with the prefix "A1" went to vehicles registered outside Sioux Falls.  The county number did not appear on renewal tabs used in 1943.

During 1925 through 1955, five counties, including Armstrong, Shannon, Todd, Washabaugh, and Washington, were unincorporated.  The administration of their affairs, including the issuance of license plates, was handled by specified neighboring counties.  There were no county codes specifically assigned to these unincorporated counties.

The county number assignments were revised for 1956 through 1975.  the nine most populous counties were assigned numbers 1 through 9 in decreasing order of population.  The remaining counties wre numbered in alphabetical order from 10 through 64.  At this point, Shannon, Washabaugh, and Todd Counties were assigned numbers 65, 66, and 67, respectively.  the county number did not appear on renewal tabs used in 1958 and 1959.  the "A1" prefix was last used in 1975.

Two-letter prefixes, which were derived from the county names, were used from 1976 through 1980, and county names appeared on a separate sticker from 1981 through 1986.  The same numerical prefixes which were used from 1956 through 1975 have also been used since 1987.  Even though Washabaugh County no longer exists, Bennett County still issues plates with prefix number 66 to vehicles owned by residents in areas which were once part of Washabaugh County.

The county numbers used from 1956-1975 and 1987 to the present are listed below first, then below that is a complete listing of county code numbers and letters:

County #     County          County seat

      1          Minnehaha     Sioux Falls

      2          Pennington    Rapid City

      3          Brown           Aberdeen

      4          Beadle          Huron

      5          Codington      Watertown

      6          Brookings      Brookings

      7          Yankton        Yankton

      8          Davison         Mitchell

      9          Lawrence       Deadwood

     10         Aurora           Plankinton

     11         Bennett         Martin

     12         Bon Homme   Tyndall

     13         Brule             Chamberlain

     14         Buffalo          Gannvalley

     15         Butte            Belle Fourche

     16         Campbell       Mound City

     17         Charles Mix    Lake Andes

     18         Clark             Clark

     19         Clay              Vermillion

     20         Corson          McIntosh

     21         Custer           Custer

     22         Day               Webster

     23         Deuel            Clear Lake

     24         Dewey           Timber Lake

     25         Douglas         Armour

     26         Edmunds        Ipswich

     27         Fall River       Hot Springs

     28         Faulk             Faulkton

     29         Grant            Milbank

     30         Gregory         Burke

     31         Haakon         Philip

     32         Hamlin          Hayti

     33         Hand             Miller

     34         Hanson          Alexandria

     35         Harding          Buffalo

     36         Hughes          Pierre

     37         Hutchinson     Olivet

     38         Hyde              Highmore

     39         Jackson          Kadoka

     40         Jerauld           Wessington Springs

     41         Jones             Murdo

     42         Kingsbury       De Smet

     43         Lake              Madison

     44         Lincoln           Canton

     45         Lyman            Kennebec

     46         McCook           Salem

     47         McPherson       Leola

     48         Marshall          Britton

     49         Meade             Sturgis

     50         Mellette          White River

     51         Miner              Howard

     52         Moody             Flandreau

     53         Perkins            Bison

     54         Potter             Gettysburg

     55         Roberts           Sisseton

     56         Sanborn           Woonsocket

     57         Spink               Redfield

     58         Stanley            Fort Pierre

     59         Sully                Onida

     60         Tripp                Winner

     61         Turner              Parker

     62         Union               Elk Point

     63         Walworth          Selby

     64         Ziebach             Dupree

     65         Shannon            (none)

     66         Washabaugh (incorporated into Jackson County in 1976)

     67         Todd                 (none)