The South Dakota Personal Lines Producer License
Personal Lines is its own line of authority in South Dakota - SDCL 58-30-152(6) - and its own examination, InsSD_Pers53. It covers property and casualty risks sold to individuals for personal, non-commercial purposes: the homeowners policy, the personal auto policy, and the personal umbrella that sits over them.
The choice worth making before you book is Personal Lines against the full Property and Casualty combination, because in South Dakota the price gap is ten dollars. InsSD_Pers53 is $85 and gives you personal lines authority. InsSD_PropCas46 is $95 and gives you Property and Casualty in full - which, as the Division's own line list confirms, already covers personal-lines risks. Personal Lines is the right paper when you are certain the practice is personal, or when the 145-question combination paper is more exam than you want to sit.
The route is South Dakota's usual short one: no pre-licensing education, no fingerprinting or background-check fee, no errors-and-omissions mandate. Pass, wait forty-eight hours, apply within 180 days for $25.
This guide owns South Dakota's `results` module - what happens between the last question and the licence. It is a genuinely state-specific process here, because South Dakota's score report behaves differently depending on the outcome, the state runs a 180-day application window that most candidates have never heard of, and the handbook is careful to say that passing is not the same as being licensed.
The South Dakota Personal Lines Exam: An Odd Number and a Missing Pretest
The handbook's fee table gives Personal Lines as 101 questions in 120 minutes for $85, code InsSD_Pers53, with a matching online row OPSD_Pers53 at the same figures. It is one of the seven South Dakota exams available under OnVUE.
| What you are booking | The published figure |
|---|---|
| Exam code, test centre | InsSD_Pers53 |
| Exam code, online | OPSD_Pers53 |
| Questions | 101 |
| Time | 120 minutes |
| Pace | About 71 seconds an item |
| Fee | $85, either way |
The content outlines describe this paper differently from every other one, and the difference is a real detail rather than an extraction artefact. The general section reads "Product Knowledge, Terms, and Concepts (75 scored plus 5 pretest questions)." The state section reads "State Statutes, Rules and Regulations (25 scoreable questions)" - with no pretest questions stated at all. It is the only one of the seven paired state-specific outlines to omit the figure, though the two standalone outlines, Crop and Bail Bonds, also print a bare scored count. That totals 105 against the fee table's 101.
So this is one of the six papers where Pearson's two documents disagree, and it disagrees in the unusual direction: the outlines are higher than the fee table here, where for Life, Health, Property and Casualty the outlines are lower. Neither is asserted over the other. The handbook carries the newer stamp - rev08/2026 against the outlines' effective date of 1 March 2024 - and 101 is what a booking screen quotes.
Passing is a reported score of 70 rather than 70 percent correct. The handbook: scores "range from 0 to 100, but should not be interpreted as the percentage or number of correct answers." Fail and you may rebook after twenty-four hours at the full $85, with no cap on attempts published anywhere.
Most Tested Topics on the South Dakota Personal Lines Exam
The twenty-five South Dakota questions on this paper cluster hard around cancellation and nonrenewal - and South Dakota runs two separate regimes for them, in two different chapters, with different notice periods, different grounds and an express carve-out connecting them. Getting the two straight is most of the state section.
| Concept | The South Dakota rule | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Auto cancellation notice | At least 20 days, mailed or delivered; the period does not vary by reason | SDCL 58-11-49 |
| Auto cancellation grounds | Three, after 60 days: nonpayment; licence or registration suspension, with a 180-day look-back on a renewal; 24/7 sobriety noncompliance | SDCL 58-11-46 |
| Auto 60-day rule | Do not apply to a policy in effect less than 60 days "unless it is a renewal policy" | SDCL 58-11-47 |
| Auto nonrenewal notice | At least 60 days, with three exceptions | SDCL 58-11-51 |
| Stating the reason, auto | Required in the notice for nonpayment; otherwise with the notice or on written request | SDCL 58-11-50 |
| Property cancellation notice | At least 20 days, "accompanied by a written explanation of the specific reasons" | SDCL 58-33-60 |
| Property cancellation grounds | Eight, and only "After sixty days from the effective date of policy issuance" | SDCL 58-33-61 |
| The carve-out | Sections 58-33-59 to 58-33-64 "do not apply to the cancellation of automobile policies or coverages" | SDCL 58-33-65 |
| Discrimination in issuance | An automobile catchline over a rule that reaches all insurance under Title 58, subject to two named exceptions | SDCL 58-11-55, 58-11-55.2 |
| Private right of action | None - foreclosed on both sides | SDCL 58-33-65.1, 58-11-54 |
Start with the numbers, because they interleave in a way designed to confuse. Twenty days to cancel an auto policy. Sixty days to not renew an auto policy. Twenty days to cancel a property policy. Sixty days of policy life before the grounds restrictions bite on either. Four sixties and twenties, and the sections carrying them - 58-11-46, -47, -49, -51 - are adjacent numbers that are not siblings. Two provisos ride with them and both reverse an easy answer: 58-11-47's sixty-day shelter does not reach a renewal policy, so a renewal is subject to the three grounds from day one; and 58-11-46 closes with "This section shall not apply to nonrenewal." 58-11-51 is a nonrenewal provision sitting in the middle of a cancellation cluster.
Then the three auto grounds, because the third one is unusual enough to be a favourite question. After sixty days, SDCL 58-11-46 permits cancellation only for: nonpayment of premium; suspension or revocation of the driver's licence or vehicle registration - during the policy period and, on a renewal, also during the prior policy period or "the one hundred eighty days immediately preceding its effective date" - of the named insured "or of any other operator who either resides in the same household or customarily operates an automobile insured under the policy"; and a person insured through the 24/7 sobriety program ceasing to be a participant because of noncompliance. That third ground is South Dakota's own, added by SL 2009, and a national study guide will not have it.
Then the property side, and the sentence that connects the two regimes. SDCL 58-33-60 requires notice at least twenty days before the effective cancellation date, "accompanied by a written explanation of the specific reasons for the cancellation" - the explanation travels with the notice, unasked. SDCL 58-33-61 then supplies eight grounds, available only after the policy has been in effect sixty days: nonpayment; fraud or material misrepresentation "made by or with the knowledge of the named insured in obtaining the policy, continuing the policy, or in presenting a claim under the policy"; discovery of acts or omissions increasing a hazard; a change in the risk substantially increasing a hazard; "A violation of any local fire, health, safety, building, or construction regulation or ordinance with respect to any insured property or the occupancy thereof which substantially increases any hazard insured against"; a determination by the director that continuation would jeopardise solvency or violate South Dakota law; breach of policy terms; and "such other reasons as are approved by the director."
And the carve-out is one sentence you should be able to quote. SDCL 58-33-65, catchline "Automobile policies exempt": "Sections 58-33-59 to 58-33-64, inclusive, do not apply to the cancellation of automobile policies or coverages, as defined in s 58-11-45." That is what keeps the two regimes apart. What the property regime does reach comes from its own definitions section, 58-33-59, which defines "insurance" by cross-reference - it "includes those policies of insurance defined in ss 58-9-5 to 58-9-27, inclusive," a run that opens with property insurance at 58-9-5. Homeowners is inside it because homeowners is property insurance, not because the statute names it.
The last item on the table is the one that reverses. SDCL 58-11-55 is headed "Discrimination in issuance or renewal of automobile insurance policy as misdemeanor" and it sits in the auto block - but SDCL 58-11-55.2 extends it: "Except as provided by ss 58-15-45 and 58-11-55.1, s 58-11-55 applies to all types of insurance issued by all insurers under Title 58" - and it goes on to preserve a fraternal benefit society's own membership-eligibility rules under chapter 58-37A. So a rule that looks auto-only reaches homeowners. Meanwhile the claims-reporting-agency cluster at 58-11-45.1 to 58-11-45.3, which looks general, is auto-only: 58-11-45.2 opens "No applicant for insurance seeking a policy for coverage of a motor vehicle." Two scope traps, running in opposite directions, three sections apart.
South Dakota Exam Results, Retakes and the 180-Day Window
You find out before you leave the room. The handbook: "When you complete the examination, you receive a score report marked 'pass' or 'fail' before leaving the test center." There is no waiting period and no letter in the post.
But the two reports are not the same document, and this is the detail most candidates do not expect. "If you passed the exam, you will receive a score report with information on how to complete the licensure process with your state licensing board. If you failed the exam, you will receive a score report that includes a numeric score and diagnostic information for the exam as well information about reexamination." Read that carefully: a pass carries no number. Only a failure gets you a score. Candidates who want to know how close they came only find out by failing.
The diagnostic on a failing report is not scoped to a section. The handbook's wording is "diagnostic information for the exam" - unqualified. Some states narrow the diagnostic to the general section and publish nothing about the state section; South Dakota's handbook contains no such narrowing, and a term sweep for it finds none.
What the number means is that it is not a percentage. "The passing score for the examination is determined by the South Dakota Division of Insurance. Through standardization and control, Pearson ensures that no individual has an unfair disadvantage or advantage because of a particular examination format. For this reason, the passing score for all examinations is reported as a score of 70," and "Examination scores range from 0 to 100, but should not be interpreted as the percentage or number of correct answers." A failing 66 does not mean sixty-six percent correct and cannot be converted into a number of questions.
Retaking takes twenty-four hours and the full fee. "Candidates who are unsuccessful in passing their examination do have the option to retake after 24 hours after their last attempt. The retake is scheduled in the same way and the candidate will be required to pay another exam fee." There is no discount and, on the handbook's own text, no cap on the number of attempts for a major-line paper. The one exception in the document is Bail Bonds, which carries "an exclusion period of one year should you fail this exam and wish to retake it."
Your result reaches the Division electronically, and you should wait for it. The handbook tells applicants to allow 48 hours (2 days) after successfully passing "to allow for the exam results to be uploaded to SBS and NIPR." Pearson pushes the result; you do not carry it, and the paper report in your hand is not what the Division reads.
And then a 180-day clock starts. "South Dakota requires that candidates who pass their major line examination must apply within 180 days to be eligible for licensure." NIPR states the same rule as a validity period - "Insurance exam scores in South Dakota are valid for 180 Days." No extension mechanism is published. Six months after the exam, the passing score is worth nothing and the paper is $85 again.
One sentence to keep expectations honest. The handbook says it plainly under South Dakota Licensing Requirements: "Passing an exam does not automatically guarantee that you will be issued a license." The examination is one of four findings the director must make under SDCL 58-30-148 - the others being age, fees, and no act that is a ground under 58-30-167. A passing score and an undisclosed history do not add up to a licence.
South Dakota Personal Lines License Fees
$85 to Pearson VUE, $25 to the state, plus the portal's service fee. South Dakota charges nothing for pre-licensing, fingerprinting, a background report or errors-and-omissions cover.
The exam fee is payable at reservation by card or voucher and is not accepted at the test centre. Where a cancellation is properly noticed, card refunds process immediately and voucher refunds take two to three weeks.
The comparison that matters here is $85 against $95. Personal Lines is $85 and covers personal-lines risks. The Property and Casualty combination is $95 and covers both major lines - the Division's own line list confirms that holding Property and Casualty covers personal-lines risks. Ten dollars buys considerably more authority; 145 questions in 150 minutes is the price you pay for it.
The licence fee is $25 resident and $30 non-resident, covering every line of authority in a single filing. Renewal is $20 biennially, $40 late.
The retake is the real budget risk on this paper. At 101 questions in 120 minutes it is the tightest-paced single-line exam South Dakota publishes, and a second attempt is the full $85 after a twenty-four-hour wait.
South Dakota Personal Lines License Eligibility
Four findings and no more, under SDCL 58-30-148: at least eighteen years of age; no act that is a ground for denial, suspension or revocation under 58-30-167; the fee paid under 58-2-29; and the examinations passed for the lines applied for.
Residency is home-state residency - "A resident producer license is issued using your home state address" - and you may sit South Dakota papers at any Pearson centre nationwide before moving here.
NIPR adds a valid business email address and, for non-US citizens, proof of work eligibility. Neither is on the Division's own pages, which is why the portal's requirements are worth reading alongside the regulator's.
And where a history needs explaining, the documents go through NIPR's Attachments Warehouse or directly to the Division. South Dakota takes no fingerprints from a personal lines applicant and orders no criminal history report - the application's background questions are the whole of the character check, which puts the weight on answering them accurately. SDCL 58-30-167(1) reaches "providing incorrect, misleading, incomplete, or materially untrue information in the license application" as a ground in its own right.
Moving into South Dakota has two doors with different clocks. Already hold a South Dakota non-resident licence? Notify the Division within 30 days of the move, request a letter of clearance from the former home state, and the resident licence issues with no application, no fee and no exams. Licensed elsewhere with no South Dakota licence? Apply within 90 days of the prior home-state licence terminating and no South Dakota exams are required for the same lines. The Property and Casualty guide walks both routes in full.
South Dakota Personal Lines Continuing Education
Important CE details: Budget 10 approved credits per biennium in the property and casualty classification - Personal Lines is measured inside that classification rather than as its own - closing on the final day of whichever month you were born in. Picking up Life and Health later raises the ceiling to 20 rather than 30. Nothing banks forward into the following biennium, and no syllabus counts twice inside one, whether you sit at the back of the room or teach at the front of it.
Ten credit hours of certified property and casualty courses every two years, due the last day of your birth month. Personal Lines sits inside the property and casualty classification for CE purposes - ARSD 20:06:18:03(1) speaks of a licensee holding a property and casualty line, and the Division's table runs the same way.
Hold Life and Health as well and the total is twenty, not thirty, capped by the proviso inside SDCL 58-30-116(1).
Carry-over is prohibited - ARSD 20:06:18:18 - and ARSD 20:06:18:20 blocks earning credit for the same course twice inside a two-year period, whether you attend it or teach it. No ethics hours are required.
Providers report, not producers. Rosters are uploaded to SBS "within fourteen (14) days of the conclusion of the course," which means a late-cycle course can still be missing from the Division's screen after your deadline passes. Extensions exist for good cause under ARSD 20:06:18:13, but the written request must reach the director at least 21 days before the deadline.
Non-resident producers are exempt from South Dakota CE entirely and comply with their home state instead. Resident producers who miss the deadline lose the licence and every appointment attached to it, with reinstatement runs for one year - and the two portals label the money differently, NIPR pricing a $40 LATE RENEWAL against the $20 renewal and separately listing a $25 REINSTATEMENT fee for an insurance producer.
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