July 23, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by the South Dakota Retailers Association.

A new South Dakota law now allows tribal identification cards to be used as a valid form of identification in the state.

The South Dakota Retailers Association provided the following interpretation of Senate Bill 146, which states that tribal identification cards are a valid form of identification in South Dakota for purposes of purchasing age-restricted products such as alcohol and tobacco.

While businesses have been able to accept tribal IDs in South Dakota, many were uncertain whether they were considered a valid form of identification for purchasing age-restricted products. The new law aims to clarify that businesses may accept valid South Dakota tribal identification cards as a legal form of ID for that purpose.

To be valid, the law stipulates that the tribal identification must:

• Be unexpired.
• Have been issued by a South Dakota tribal government of a tribe recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Contain the legal name of the individual.
• Display the individual’s date of birth.
• Contain a photo of the individual.
• Contain a signature.

Under this law, tribal IDs are treated the same as a driver’s license or state-issued ID for purchases of age-restricted products. The business may reject the ID if it appears to have been tampered with, if it is expired or if the person presenting the card does not appear to be the actual licensee.

As with driver’s licenses and state-issued ID cards, if the sales clerk relies on the tribal ID card as proof of age and the ID appears to be valid, it may be used as a defense if any action is brought against that clerk for selling to an underage individual.

The nine federally recognized tribes in South Dakota are Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Flandreau Santee, Lower Brule, Oglala (Pine Ridge), Rosebud, Sisseton Wahpeton, Standing Rock and Yankton.