South Dakota requires supervised driving hours that include both night driving and driving in inclement weather before a teen can move from an instruction permit to a restricted minor's permit. The commonly cited figures are 50 hours total, with 10 at night and 10 in inclement conditions. South Dakota is one of only a handful of states that names bad weather in the requirement at all — a sensible rule in a state where a January drive is a different activity from a July one. The instruction permit period is shorter if driver education is completed: commonly 180 days with a course, longer without.
South Dakota supervised driving requirements at a glance
| Requirement | South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 50 hours (commonly cited) — confirm the current figure with the Department of Public Safety |
| Night hours | 10 hours at night, plus practice in inclement conditions (commonly cited as 10 hours) |
| Professional / instructor hours | Completing an approved driver education course shortens the instruction permit period |
| Minimum permit age | 14 (instruction permit) |
| Permit holding period | Commonly 180 days with driver education, longer without — confirm the current periods with the DPS |
| Permit validity | Check the expiration on the instruction permit — South Dakota permits are time-limited and renewable |
| Who may supervise | A licensed adult (parent, guardian, or an adult they authorize) in the front passenger seat — confirm the current age rule with the DPS |
| Official log form | South Dakota requires certification of the supervised hours signed by a parent or guardian |
| Certification method | Parent or guardian certifies the driving experience |
| State app or program | None. South Dakota does not publish an official hour-logging app. |
Who can supervise practice driving in South Dakota
South Dakota's permit age of 14 means practice starts very young, and the state's rural roads are unforgiving of inattention in the passenger seat.
- A licensed adult in the front passenger seat for every drive — in practice, a parent, guardian, or an adult they authorize.
- A driver education instructor qualifies during course sessions.
- Starting at 14 gives you two years. That is an advantage worth using, especially because the inclement-weather hours require living through a winter.
Night hours, and what "night" means here
South Dakota asks for night hours and inclement-weather hours, which is a rare and honest pairing. Treat night as actual darkness — after sunset, before sunrise. In Sioux Falls and Rapid City, December darkness starts around 4:55 PM, so any after-school drive counts from November through February. The inclement-weather requirement is the harder one, and it is also the point: blowing snow on an open plain, ice on a bridge deck, and gravel roads that turn to slush are the conditions that put new South Dakota drivers in ditches. Those hours cannot be scheduled — you take them when the weather gives them to you.
What counts as a loggable hour
- Public-road driving with a qualified supervisor counts. The trip to school, errands, highway miles, practice loops around the neighborhood — it all counts as long as the permit holder is at the wheel and the supervising driver is in the front passenger seat.
- Time parked, idling, or waiting in a drive-through does not count. Log driving time, not trip time.
- Empty parking lots and closed courses generally do not count. The point of the requirement is real traffic.
- Hours before the permit was issued do not count. The permit has to be in hand first.
- Weather hours are opportunistic. When it is snowing and you have thirty minutes, that is the drive to take. Waiting for a convenient blizzard in April does not work.
How to actually get to 50 hours
Fifty hours over a six-month permit period is about two hours a week, which is manageable. The requirement that actually sets the calendar is the weather: a permit issued in March means almost no chance of inclement practice before summer. If you have the flexibility, start the permit in the fall so the winter does the hard part for you.
Official South Dakota resources
- South Dakota DPS — Driver Licensing — instruction permit, restricted minor's permit, and licensing requirements
- South Dakota Driver License Manual — the handbook the written test is drawn from
Tracking your hours
Because South Dakota's requirement splits across night and weather, a log with condition tags is the only kind that answers the question honestly.
PermitReady is a free iPhone and iPad app that does two things: practice questions for the South Dakota DPS permit test, and a supervised driving hours log. Each drive is one entry — date, duration, and condition tags including night, highway, rain, and heavy traffic — with a running total at the top so you always know how far you have left to go. Entries can be backdated, so a log you started late can still be complete. It works offline, and there is no account to create: nothing is uploaded, and the log lives on the phone.
Honest limits: PermitReady does not detect drives automatically, does not use GPS, is iPhone and iPad only, and does not generate a signed state affidavit. It is a record you copy from when you fill in the DPS certification of supervised driving. If you would rather have automatic drive detection or an Android app, RoadReady has both — we compare them directly in PermitReady vs RoadReady. There is also a full write-up of the driving log and a set of printable paper templates if you would rather keep it on paper.
Frequently asked questions
How many supervised driving hours does South Dakota require?
The commonly cited figure is 50 hours, including 10 at night and 10 in inclement conditions. Confirm the current requirement with the South Dakota Department of Public Safety before applying.
Does South Dakota require bad-weather driving hours?
Yes, South Dakota is one of the few states that names inclement conditions in its requirement. Those hours cannot be scheduled, so take them opportunistically when the weather turns.
How old do you have to be to get a South Dakota instruction permit?
14, which is among the youngest in the country. That gives most families two full years of practice, which is useful given the weather requirement.
How long do you have to hold a South Dakota instruction permit?
Commonly 180 days with an approved driver education course, and longer without one. Confirm the current periods with the DPS.
Does South Dakota have an official driving log form?
South Dakota requires certification of the supervised hours signed by a parent or guardian. Get the current form from the Department of Public Safety.
Also for South Dakota
South Dakota permit test practice · Supervised driving hours log · Printable log templates · Supervised driving hours by state
Verification and disclaimers
Requirements verified August 2026 against South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Driver Licensing. Requirements change, and the South Dakota Department of Public Safety can revise them without much notice — always confirm the current rules with the South Dakota Department of Public Safety before your road test.
PermitReady's driving hours log is a personal tracking tool. It is not a state form and has not been approved or endorsed by any state licensing agency. Check with your state's DMV, RMV, DPS, BMV, or equivalent agency for which log format they require, and use their official state form if one is mandated.
RoadReady® is a registered trademark of Safe Roads Alliance, Inc. PermitReady is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Safe Roads Alliance, Inc.
PermitReady is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety or any government agency.