The renewal process, and the law that defines it, has changed significantly from how it was explained to those who got the permit starting in 2015. I will first quickly break down what you have to do to renew your permit.
How to renew my South Dakota Enhanced Pistol Permit
- Complete an Enhanced Permit class or a "renewal class" not more than 180 days prior to or 30 days after the expiration of your permit.
- Take the certificate of completion and fingerprint cards to the sheriff's office in your county of residence and apply.
- Wait for your new card to arrive from the Secretary of State's Office.
Now that I have simply told you how to renew your permit, I will tell you that you should not renew your permit through a mildly tedious and lengthy explanation.
In 2022, at the urging of Governor Kristi Noem, the legislature passed House Bill 1065, which eliminated all fees paid by citizens to get a concealed pistol permit of any kind in South Dakota. No fingerprint background check fee, no first-time application fee, and no renewal fee. The greatest advantage to renewing your permit was that it cost less. Originally the new permit fee was $100 and renewal was $50. That was later dropped to $60 and $35 respectively. Now there is no fee to renew. So why not just repeat the process like a new applicant? It's a lot simpler to explain than the convoluted renewal explanation.
In 2020, the legislature passed House Bill 1182 to redefine what is required to renew an Enhanced Permit. The big change was the requirement of taking what some would call a "renewal class," although the law does not specify a class be taken, it merely requires three tasks to be completed and to provide proof of them.
- Successfully completed the live fire component of a qualifying handgun course defined in § 23-7-58;
- Received instruction regarding the use of force standards; and
- Received instruction regarding relevant criminal statutory changes.
This is defined differently than the original "Qualifying Handgun Course" a new applicant must take which also requires instruction in firearm safety. Without knowing specifically, I would guess the legislature was trying to soften the blow of requiring everyone to take a class again when that was not originally part of the renewal process when this permit system began. I can assure you, some people were upset about it. The main reason was over fear that Minnesota would revoke reciprocity of the Enhanced Permit if a class was not required prior to renewal as it is in their state.
There are a few state-certified instructors who offer a "renewal class" but I don't, nor do friends of mine who also offer this class. The simple reason is that the classes' differences are so small that it isn't worth it for us to try to schedule separate dates for the relatively small number of people renewing.
The SD Enhanced Permit/Renewal class offered by Sioux Falls Shooting covers the specific requirements of both types of classes. And in my experience, I haven't met anyone who could not use a refresher on firearm safety.
Another reason you should not renew your permit and just apply like it is new again is that if you take a "renewal class" that certificate is only good from the day you take it until 30 days after your old permit expires. If you miss that window, you are out of luck and you have to then take the original Enhanced class again. The certificate for an Enhanced Class is good for one year.
The bottom line of all of this is don't worry about renewal dates or deadlines. Just go get the permit again. Take a class, apply at the sheriff's office, and wait for your card to arrive.
