What is the residency requirement for adoption in South Dakota?

South Dakota has no minimum residency period for a stepparent adoption, so you don't have to live in the state for a set number of months before you file. You file your petition in the Circuit Court, and South Dakota has 66 counties, each with its own clerk's office.

What this means for you: If you recently moved to South Dakota, you aren't waiting out a residency clock. If you live in another state, or your child's other parent does, the details of your situation matter. Confirm them with the Circuit Court clerk in your county or with an attorney before you file.

Other points that affect your timing:

• Child's consent: South Dakota sets the child consent age at 12 (SDCL § 25-6-5). If your stepchild is 12 or older, plan for that consent as part of your paperwork.
• Abandonment: The abandonment period is 6 months (SDCL § 25-6-4(2)). It can matter if the other legal parent is not involved. Whether it applies to your family depends on your facts, so an attorney or the court clerk is the right person to ask.
• Home study: For stepparent adoptions, the home study is waived (SDCL § 25-6-10), so you don't need to schedule one.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in South Dakota typically take 3-6 months from filing.
• Filing fee: The clerk in your county can confirm the current fee and how that office takes filings.

If you are considering adopting an adult: The rules are different. South Dakota law (SDCL 25-6-18) does not state a residency requirement for the adopter. The adoptee must instead have lived in the adopter's home for at least 6 months while under age 21, and this must appear in the petition. That requirement is waived if the adoptee is the adopter's biological child. The petition must also include a written agreement that the adoptee will be treated in all respects as the petitioner's natural child, and the adoptee gives written consent. Adult adoptions typically take 4-8 weeks. If you are married, ask the clerk or an attorney whether your spouse's consent is needed, since the statute on that point (SDCL 25-6-3) does not say whether it applies to adults.

Contested or unclear situations: If the other parent may object, can't be located, or your family's circumstances are unusual, a local attorney or the Circuit Court clerk can tell you how the court will handle your case.

How we help: StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online, and we prepare the complete court document package for your county. You then file it yourself, without an attorney. The cost is $349 for the first child (or for one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. Your court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and they come with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 187 South Dakota families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.