South Dakota law on contractor quotes, sites, phones and texts

Federal rules apply here as in every state, with the TCPA covering texts and autodialed calls and CAN-SPAM covering email. See the TCPA guide and the recording guide for those. South Dakota adds the layers below. The text below is general information as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. The state laws below were read on the legislature's site, and the tax rules in the Department of Revenue's July 2026 guides.

How should taxes show up on a South Dakota quote or invoice?

South Dakota taxes more than most states, and the way it taxes depends on the job. According to the Department of Revenue's July 2026 Sales and Use Tax Guide, state sales tax is 4.2% on taxable products and services, and a municipal tax of 1% to 2% applies where the buyer receives the service in a city that imposes one. Construction and realty improvement work is handled differently. Prime contractors owe a 2% contractor's excise tax on gross receipts, and the Department's guide says those receipts include any tax collected from the customer. Our sales tax table compares this with other states.

The state spells out how to show this on paper. The Department's July 2026 Contractor's Excise Tax Guide says state law allows a contractor to list the excise tax, and any use tax, as a separate line item on all contracts and bills, to public and private customers alike, citing SDCL 10-46A-12 and 10-46B-10. For an online estimate tool or a CRM, that means a tax line that can be turned on for excise jobs and off for others.

The math is the part owners get wrong. Because the 2% is owed on a total that includes the tax itself, the Department says you may use a bid factor of 2.041% when preparing a bid or bill, so you collect the full amount, and you use a straight 2% on the excise return. The guide gives a worked example for sales tax as well: if a customer pays $100 and the document says tax is included, you report $95.97 as gross receipts and owe $4.03 ($100 divided by 1.042). A tax-inclusive price on a web page or payment link therefore changes what you owe. If you publish "all-in" pricing, keep the tax-included wording on the invoice, because the guide ties the treatment to the document showing it.

One South Dakota rule is a small web-and-paperwork detail that inspectors check. The guide says all contractors must write their contractor's excise tax license number on or near the building permit. It does not require displaying the license itself. A company that does both mowing and decks can owe sales tax on some jobs and excise tax on others. Code each job type in your quoting software before you send the first estimate.

Can you record calls in South Dakota?

Yes, when you are a party to the call. SDCL 23A-35A-20 makes it a Class 5 felony to overhear or record a communication by means of an eavesdropping device without the consent of a sender or receiver, or without the consent of a party to a conversation. Consent of one party is enough. A recorded main line, call tracking and a recording AI receptionist all qualify. A short spoken notice is still smart when callers might be in all-party states, as the recording guide explains. The felony classification is the reason not to record calls between two other people, such as a crew lead and a supplier, unless one of them agrees.

What do South Dakota's telemarketing statutes require?

SDCL chapter 37-30A is the state telemarketing act. It applies to a "telemarketer," defined to include a person who initiates the sale of consumer goods or services "by text, telephonic means, or by postcard or other written notice" where the offer does not fully describe the goods and the material terms and asks the consumer to contact the seller. "Unsolicited consumer telephone communication" is a call or text other than one made in response to an express request, in connection with an existing contract that is not yet completed, or to someone with whom you have an existing business relationship.

• Hours (37-30A-3): no unsolicited call or text to a residence before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the consumer's local time, and none on Sunday.
• Disclosures (37-30A-2): to a residential number, show your real name and number on caller ID, give your true name, your employer's name, the business address and the purpose immediately, ask within thirty seconds if the person wants to hear a sales presentation, and hang up as soon as they show disinterest.
• Written confirmation (37-30A-4 to 37-30A-6): a verbal agreement made with a telemarketer is not binding unless the consumer signs a written confirmation with the terms, and you may not charge a card or bank account before you hold the signed copy.
• Burden of proof (37-30A-17): a telemarketer claiming an exemption must prove it.

Section 37-30A-8 excludes several kinds of business. One is a merchant with an established fixed location who displays or offers services on a continuing basis and makes less than twenty-five percent of new sales through unsolicited consumer telephone communications. Another is a business with a clear, preexisting relationship with the consumer. A third is a sale made after the consumer examines an ad or brochure that gives the seller's name, address and phone number, a full description, all prices and fees, and any limits. Most home-service companies that answer inbound calls and send quotes to people who asked for them fall in these exclusions. Companies that buy lists and cold-text homeowners do not. A willful violation is a deceptive trade practice, a consumer can recover twice actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, plus costs and fees (37-30A-14), and a knowing violation with intent to defraud is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Does a small South Dakota company need to register to make sales calls?

The Public Utilities Commission runs the state's no-call program under SDCL 49-31-99 to 49-31-108. Its rule 20:10:35:02 uses South Dakota residential numbers on the national Do Not Call registry as the state register, so one list serves both. No one may make an unsolicited call to a number on the register. Under the statute, "unsolicited" excludes a call made in response to an express request, a call tied to an existing contract not yet completed, and a call to someone you share an established business relationship with, meaning a purchase in the last eighteen months or an inquiry in the last three, and not terminated (SDCL 49-31-1.5 and 49-31-1.6).

A telephone solicitor making unsolicited calls to South Dakota residences must obtain the register, and rule 20:10:35:08 sets an annual fee by headcount. As listed in October 2026, a company employing 5 or fewer employees or agents pays $0, one with 6 to 49 pays $50, and one with 50 to 100 pays $100. The fee period starts October 1, and the fee is due before you place the calls. The solicitor also supplies its name, address, phone, federal tax ID, headcount and a registered agent in the state. The Commission can fine up to $5,000 per offense, weighing the size of the business, prior offenses and good faith (SDCL 49-31-108). A call to a number that first appears on the register is not a violation if it is made within thirty days of your receiving the register, which is the grace period for refreshing your list.

When can a customer cancel a job sold at their home?

South Dakota's door-to-door sales rule is in SDCL 37-24-5.1 to 37-24-5.7. A "door to door sale" is a sale, lease or rental of goods or services of $25 or more where the seller or a representative personally solicits the sale, including after an invitation from the buyer, and the buyer agrees at a place other than the seller's place of business. The seller must hand over a completed receipt or contract with the date, the seller's name and address and, in bold type of at least ten points near the signature line, a statement that the buyer may cancel up to midnight on the third business day. The seller must also tell the buyer orally, and furnish a detachable "Notice of Cancellation" in duplicate. The notice form lets the buyer cancel by signed notice, other written notice or electronic notice. After cancellation the seller has ten business days to refund payments and return any trade-in.

The exclusions decide whether this reaches you. Section 37-24-5.2 does not cover a sale conducted entirely by mail or telephone with no other contact before the work, a sale following the buyer's visit to your fixed retail location, or a buyer-initiated emergency where the buyer signs a handwritten statement describing the situation and waiving the right. Subsection (5) also excludes a visit the buyer asked for specifically to repair or maintain the buyer's personal property. If you sell the buyer extra services or goods during that visit, those extras are not excluded. A repair call that turns into a large add-on sold on the porch is the situation to prepare for. Waivers and confessions of judgment in the contract are themselves a deceptive practice (37-24-5.5). The service contract guide lists what else belongs in the paperwork.

What happens if your customer data is exposed?

South Dakota's identity crimes chapter has a breach notice duty for any "information holder." After discovering a breach of system security, you must notify affected South Dakota residents not later than sixty days after discovery, unless law enforcement needs a delay (SDCL 22-40-20 and 22-40-21). You may skip notice only after an investigation and notice to the Attorney General showing the breach will not likely cause harm, and you must document that decision and keep it for at least three years. A breach affecting more than 250 South Dakota residents must be reported to the Attorney General, and the chapter also requires notice to consumer reporting agencies. Keeping card numbers and Social Security numbers out of your CRM, photos and inbox lowers the odds that any of this applies to you.

What this means for your setup

Website and estimates: build the quote form so excise and sales tax can be separate lines, use the bid factor on excise jobs, and keep your excise license number in the paperwork for permits. If you accept deposits through payment links, see online payments. Our website service includes that kind of form work.

Business line and AI receptionist: a participant can lawfully record, and inbound calls are not "unsolicited." The AI receptionist answering your own line sits outside the telemarketing chapter. Outbound campaigns do not, so keep them to people who asked, bought within eighteen months or inquired within three.

Texts and email: hold a record of each opt-in, send nothing on Sunday or outside 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to a home number without a basis, and scrub lists against the national registry. CAN-SPAM governs email everywhere. Confirm questions with the Department of Revenue, the Public Utilities Commission or a South Dakota attorney, because rules and fees change.

Frequently asked questions