South Dakota does not require an individual statewide food handler card.

State mandates a certified food service manager per establishment (see the food manager page), not individual employee handler cards.

What it’s called

South Dakota requires no individual food handler card. “Food handler license,” “food handlers permit,” “food safety certificate” and “food handler card” are common searches, but South Dakota issues no such individual credential. The credential many searchers have in mind is the food manager certification – a separate, establishment-level qualification held by at least one person in charge – which has its own page: the South Dakota food manager certification page .

ServSafe is a private training program, not a government credential — see is ServSafe required in your state for what it is and how the handler card differs from the manager certification.

What South Dakota requires instead

No individual food handler card is required in South Dakota. The state’s food-safety duty falls on the establishment: under ARSD 44:02:07:03 every food service establishment and mobile food service establishment must designate a person in charge for each work shift, and at least one person in charge per establishment must be a certified food service manager. That is a manager certification, not an employee card – who must hold it, the approved course, recertification, grace periods and exemptions are on the South Dakota food manager certification page .

Who does NOT need this — exemptions

South Dakota issues no food handler card, so no employee has a card duty to be exempted from. The exemptions from the certified-manager rule itself are stated on the South Dakota food manager certification page . Several operations sit outside the licensing chapter (SDCL ch. 34-18) that the manager rule is built on:

Outside the licensing chapter (SDCL ch. 34-18), on whose license-holder duty ARSD 44:02:07:03 is built:

  • Nonprofit organizations — SDCL 34-18-20: “Nonprofit organizations shall be exempt from the licensing and license fee provisions of this chapter.”
  • Establishments serving alcoholic beverages (as defined in ch. 35-1) “who do not otherwise come within the definition of a food service establishment, temporary food service establishment, or mobile food service establishment” — SDCL 34-18-20.
  • Bed and breakfast establishments — SDCL 34-18-9.2: “No bed and breakfast establishment as defined in Sec. 34-18-9.1 is subject to be licensed under the provisions of this chapter” (they register instead, SDCL 34-18-9.3).
  • Farmers markets / roadside stands selling whole, intact fresh fruits or vegetables — SDCL 34-18-34: no such seller “is required to be licensed pursuant to this chapter.”
  • Low-frequency no-cost food – SDCL 34-18-17: a business that offers food at no cost or consideration not more than three times in any calendar year and no more than three consecutive days at a time, in conjunction with a grand opening, promotion, or special product showing, is exempt from the licensing and license-fee provisions of this chapter.
  • Home-prepared (cottage) food — SDCL 34-18-35 and 34-18-38: a person selling food prepared at their primary residence is “exempt from the licensing and license fee provisions of this chapter” when the statutory conditions are met (food meets Sec. 34-18-37, sold in the seller’s physical presence at the residence, a farmer’s market, a roadside stand or other temporary sale venue, and personally delivered).
  • Fairs and nonprofit organisations operating a temporary food service establishment are exempt from the temporary license FEE — SDCL 34-18-18.

Two limits on those exemptions, stated in the statutes themselves — do not overread them: (1) exemption from licensing “does not release the owner of such establishments from compliance with the public health requirements of this chapter and the rules and regulations of the department” (SDCL 34-18-20; the same saver appears in SDCL 34-18-18); and (2) the department may still enter and inspect an exempt establishment upon receipt of a complaint (SDCL 34-18-25.3).

Not exempt: a licensed restaurant that changes ownership, or that loses its certified food service manager, does not become exempt – the manager rule’s grace periods are stated on the South Dakota food manager certification page .

Where to check

No food handler card is issued in South Dakota (none exists statewide). Food service safety is regulated by the South Dakota Department of Health, Office of Food & Lodging, which issues food service licenses and enforces ARSD 44:02:07. The state’s only mandated food-safety credential is the certified food service manager – covered on the South Dakota food manager certification page .