Clearing Criminal Records After Criminal Identity Theft in South Dakota

Being pulled over on Interstate 90 near Rapid City or rejected for a professional job in Sioux Falls because an imposter gave your full name, date of birth, and Social Security number during an arrest is a terrifying ordeal. Unlike financial fraud-where you can dispute a credit card charge online-criminal identity theft attaches someone else's warrants, misdemeanor tickets, or felony indictments directly to your public court docket in the South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Until those entries are formally vacated and expunged by a judge, automated background screening companies and law enforcement officers will treat the imposter's criminal history as yours.

Under South Dakota law, clearing a false criminal record requires a coordinated two-track strategy: proving biometric non-identity through fingerprint comparison with state investigators and petitioning the Circuit Court for a formal Order of Expungement. Understanding how state statutes protect innocent victims allows you to permanently seal wrongful charges and prevent future roadside arrests.

Criminal Identity Theft and False Personation Under South Dakota Law

When a perpetrator memorizes or presents your identifying details to a police officer, they commit two distinct crimes in South Dakota. First, S.D. Codified Laws § 22-40-1 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to falsely impersonate another person with intent to deceive a law enforcement officer and thereby subject the victim to civil or criminal liability. Second, S.D. Codified Laws § 22-40-8 classifies unauthorized use of another person's identifying information as felony identity theft. As illustrated in State v. Schmidt, 825 N.W.2d 889 (SD Supreme Court 2012), South Dakota prosecutors aggressively charge felony identity theft under S.D. Codified Laws § 22-40-8 when an offender weaponizes another citizen's personal identifiers.

However, convicting the impersonator does not automatically scrub your name from the South Dakota Public Access Record Search (PARS) or eCourts portals. Under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-26, expungement in South Dakota means the formal sealing of all records on file within any court, detention facility, law enforcement agency, or the Department of Public Safety concerning a person's arrest, detention, trial, or disposition.

Resolving Specific Criminal Identity Theft Scenarios in South Dakota

Expunging False Arrest Records Under SDCL 23A-3-27

Normally, a defendant whose charges are dismissed must wait a full year before asking a court to seal the file. Recognizing the unfairness this causes to innocent people, the Legislature enacted S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-27(4), which allows an arrested or charged person to apply for expungement within one year from the date the prosecuting attorney formally dismisses the entire criminal case on the record upon a showing of compelling necessity. Being the victim of criminal identity theft is a textbook compelling necessity.

South Dakota courts enforce statutory expungement rules strictly. In In re Matter of Oliver, 810 N.W.2d 350 (SD Supreme Court 2012), the court held that a circuit judge's power to grant an expungement is strictly limited to the specific criteria listed in S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-27. Furthermore, in In re Taliaferro, 856 N.W.2d 805 (SD Supreme Court 2014), the court ruled that dismissed charges can only be expunged when the prosecuting attorney formally dismisses the entire criminal case on the record. Therefore, your defense lawyer must ensure the State's Attorney enters a complete dismissal of all counts linked to your name before filing the expungement motion. Under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-30, once you demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that sealing the file serves the ends of justice, the public interest, and your own interest, the judge enters an Order of Expungement that restores you to your pre-arrest legal status under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-32.

Fighting Identity Theft in Traffic Citations (DUI and Speeding)

Traffic stops create the most treacherous identity theft traps because minor citations often do not require booking fingerprints. If a relative, acquaintance, or thief recites your name and date of birth during a speeding stop under S.D. Codified Laws § 32-25-7 or a misdemeanor driving under the influence (DUI) arrest under S.D. Codified Laws § 32-23-1 and then skips court, the magistrate judge will issue a bench warrant or enter a default judgment against your name. Worse, the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Driver Licensing Program, Pierre will suspend your driver's license for failure to appear or pay fines.

Because S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-27 only expunges non-convictions, you cannot expunge a traffic or DUI conviction while a default judgment remains on the books. Your attorney must first file a Motion to Vacate Judgment and Set Aside Conviction under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-27-4.1 or S.D. Codified Laws § 15-6-60(b), subpoenaing the patrol officer's dashcam or body-worn camera footage, signature pad comparison, and booking photos to prove you were not the driver. Once the conviction is vacated and the prosecutor dismisses the citation, your lawyer can immediately petition for expungement and submit the dismissal order to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Driver Licensing Program, Pierre to reinstate your driving privileges without reinstatement fees.

Resolving Out-of-State Warrants and Extradition Holds

If a scammer uses your stolen South Dakota driver's license number to commit a felony in Minnesota, Colorado, or Texas, that out-of-state court will enter a nationwide arrest warrant into the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. Under South Dakota's Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, S.D. Codified Laws § 23-24-15, any local police officer who runs your license plate in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, or Aberdeen is legally authorized to arrest and hold you in county jail pending extradition proceedings. Under S.D. Codified Laws § 23-24-12, challenging an out-of-state warrant requires a Writ of Habeas Corpus showing you are not the person who committed the crime, backed by ten-print biometric fingerprint cards transmitted from your local sheriff's office to the prosecuting agency in the demanding state so they can recall the warrant and update NCIC.

Obtaining an Identity Theft Passport and Victim Verification Packet

Many victims ask how to obtain an Identity Theft Passport from the state to show police officers during future traffic stops. While eleven other states issue a plastic statutory passport card, South Dakota provides equivalent protection through a multi-part Identity Theft Victim Verification Packet coordinated between local law enforcement, the Office of the South Dakota Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, Pierre, and the Office of the South Dakota Attorney General, Division of Criminal Investigation, Pierre (DCI). By submitting ten-print fingerprint cards under S.D. Codified Laws § 23-5-12 to DCI's Identification Section in Pierre, investigators compare your prints against the arrest prints on file and issue an official biometric non-match letter. Combining that DCI clearance letter with a certified Court Order of Expungement under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-30, your local police report for S.D. Codified Laws § 22-40-8 identity theft, and a federal Form FTC-IDTR, Federal, Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft Report and Affidavit creates a portable legal shield to keep in your glove compartment.

Step-by-Step Process in South Dakota

Whether the false arrest occurred in Minnehaha County, Pennington County, Brown County, or Brookings County, follow this exact sequence to clear your name.

Step 1: Complete Ten-Print Biometric Fingerprinting and File a Police Report

Visit your local police department or county sheriff's office in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, or your hometown to file a criminal complaint for identity theft under S.D. Codified Laws § 22-40-8. Ask the booking technician to roll a certified ten-print fingerprint card and submit it to the Office of the South Dakota Attorney General, Division of Criminal Investigation, Pierre at 1302 E. Highway 14, Suite 5, Pierre, SD 57501 (phone: 605-773-3331) to prove your prints do not match the person booked under your name.

Step 2: Present Exculpatory Proof to the County State's Attorney

Have a criminal defense attorney present your fingerprint comparison, employment timecards, cell-tower location data, and officer bodycam requests to the prosecuting State's Attorney. If a warrant is active, your lawyer can arrange a walk-in quash hearing so you are never taken into custody, and request that the prosecutor formally dismiss the entire criminal case on the record.

Step 3: File a Motion for Expungement in Circuit Court

Once the case is dismissed on the record, file for immediate expungement under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-27(4) in the court that had jurisdiction over the offense-such as the Second Judicial Circuit Court, Minnehaha County Courthouse, Sioux Falls, the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court, Pennington County Courthouse, Rapid City, or the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court, Brown County Courthouse, Aberdeen. Submit Form UJS-232, South Dakota, Unified Judicial System, Case Filing Statement and Form UJS-391A, South Dakota, Unified Judicial System, Motion for Expungement along with the $72 civil filing fee (or a fee waiver affidavit under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-28).

Step 4: Serve the Prosecuting Attorney and Obtain a Hearing Waiver

Under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-28, you must serve the prosecuting attorney with your motion along with Form UJS-391B, South Dakota, Unified Judicial System, Admission of Service and file Form UJS-391C, South Dakota, Unified Judicial System, Affidavit of Mailing with the Clerk of Courts. In criminal identity theft cases, prosecutors routinely sign Form UJS-392, South Dakota, Unified Judicial System, Waiver of Expungement Hearing so the judge can sign Form UJS-394, South Dakota, Unified Judicial System, Order of Expungement without requiring you to appear in open court.

Step 5: Serve the Expungement Order on DCI and Background Bureaus

After the judge signs the order, file Form UJS-395, South Dakota, Unified Judicial System, Notice of Entry of Order of Expungement. Pursuant to S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-31, the court clerk transmits the order to the Office of the South Dakota Attorney General, Division of Criminal Investigation, Pierre and the arresting agency to seal all public records. Also send certified copies of the order and your Form FTC-IDTR, Federal, Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft Report and Affidavit to commercial background screening bureaus under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2 to force removal from private employment databases within 4 business days.

How Much Does it Cost in South Dakota?

• Circuit Court Expungement Filing Fee: Under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-28, filing a Motion for Expungement costs $72 ($70 civil filing fee plus a $2 court automation adjustment), which may be waived by the court upon a showing of indigency or prosecutorial stipulation.
• PARS Court Record Search & Fingerprint Fees: Running a statewide South Dakota UJS Public Access Record Search (PARS) costs $20 per search. Obtaining a state DCI fingerprint background check costs $26.75, plus $10 to $20 for local sheriff ten-print card rolling.
• Criminal Defense & Expungement Attorney Fees: Hiring a local South Dakota criminal defense lawyer from our directory to vacate a wrongful conviction, negotiate an immediate prosecutorial dismissal, and process an expungement under S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-3-27 typically costs between $1,000 and $2,500 depending on whether an evidentiary hearing or out-of-state warrant recall is required.

How Long Does the Process Take?

Clearing your criminal history across state, federal, and private databases follows distinct statutory timelines:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)