Renewing, replacing a seal, or changing your name or address

Becoming a South Dakota notary is a one-time paper filing, but a six-year commission usually outlasts at least one change of address, a legal name change, or a misplaced seal. South Dakota handles every one of these the same basic way — a form mailed to the Secretary of State — but the details differ enough, and matter enough, that guessing wrong can leave a notary unable to notarize until it's sorted out.

Renewal uses the identical Notary Public Application and Oath as a first-time application — there's no separate renewal form. Fill it out, sign it, enclose the $30 filing fee, and mail it to the Secretary of State, 500 E. Capitol Ave., Suite 204, Pierre, SD 57501.

• You may submit it up to 60 days before your current commission expires. Not earlier.
• You choose the new expiration date. To keep the same commission month and day, mail the renewal before the current commission lapses. If you'd rather start the new six-year term on a different date, say so on the application — but the office must still receive it before that date, since applications can't be backdated.
• The commission date is set by the Secretary of State, not by when you mail it. It runs from the date the office actually issues the new commission, six years to the day.

A notary who lets a commission lapse without renewing on time isn't renewing anymore — the Secretary of State's own materials treat a lapsed commission the same as a first-time application, following the same steps described on the home page.

Lost or stolen seal, in more detail

Report a lost or stolen seal to the Secretary of State right away so a notation goes on your record — that alone doesn't cost anything or require a form. From there you have two options:

1. Keep your existing commission and get a new seal made. It can be identical to the old one or a different type entirely. Record the new impression with the Secretary of State using a Notary Change Form before you use it.
2. Ask, in writing, for the Secretary of State to cancel your current commission and issue a new one with a new expiration date. This follows the same procedure as a first-time application.

Either way, if you're also changing your name at the same time — not unusual, since a new seal is already being ordered — the new seal's imprint has to match exactly how you now sign and how your name is recorded with the Secretary of State.

Changing your name

South Dakota actually gives a notary three options when a legal name changes mid-commission, not just one:

• Keep notarizing under the surname already on the commission and seal, unchanged.
• Keep the existing commission and seal, but add a notation like “presently” or “now” plus the new name next to the signature — for example, “Sally Smith, presently Sally Jones.”
• Actually change the name on the commission. This requires buying a new seal with the new name and filing the imprint on a Notary Change Form; the Secretary of State then issues a Notary Public Name Change Certificate with no additional filing fee.

Only the third option lets you sign and seal documents under the new name going forward — and, as above, not until confirmation arrives.

Moving, or changing your address

A South Dakota notary commission is valid in every county in the state, regardless of which county was on file when it was issued — moving from one South Dakota county to another doesn't interrupt your authority to notarize. Even so, notify the Secretary of State of any address change using a Notary Change Form, so the office's public record stays accurate. (That address is a public record; see the privacy page for how this site itself handles information, which is unrelated to what the state discloses about notaries.)

What a Notary Change Form doesn't mention

None of the Secretary of State's pages on seal replacement, address changes, or adding a second seal mention a state filing fee for submitting a Notary Change Form — only the name-change page explicitly says the replacement certificate is issued “without any additional filing fee.” Read that as the published information available, not as a guarantee that every change is free; if cost matters to your situation, confirm it with the Secretary of State's office before you file. The one cost that is certain is buying the physical seal itself, which the state doesn't sell and doesn't set a price for.