11 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page, and what the Census counts of brewery taprooms in South Dakota say.
11 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 6Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 11 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Members keep a dated, noted plan for each saved location in the workspace.
1Set up the business0 of 3
File through the Secretary of State’s online business services. The articles name a registered agent with a South Dakota street address. The 2025 law added $5 to the annual report fee; a late report adds a $50 penalty before the LLC is administratively dissolved.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed whenever the business trades under any name other than the owner’s legal name or the LLC’s registered name. File online with the Secretary of State, or on paper with any county register of deeds. Registration gives no exclusive right to the name.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the state tax license. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Apply online before the first sale and post the license. South Dakota has no personal or corporate income tax, so there is no state withholding account. Besides the state sales tax, most cities add up to 2% municipal sales tax, and many add a 1% municipal gross receipts tax on prepared food, alcohol, lodging and admissions, which restaurants and bars collect on the same return. Business Tax Division: 1-800-829-9188.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Ask the city finance office before signing the lease whether your use needs a local license. The same office takes the alcohol license application and sets its local fee.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing; a change of use needs building permits, a fire inspection and the certificate of occupancy, and the Department of Health and the city both ask for it before the food or alcohol license is issued.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
The state licenses food service everywhere in South Dakota; the application, the floor plan and the menu go to the Department before the build-out, then the pre-opening inspection, and the license is posted. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all food service establishments under the rules. Operating without the license is a misdemeanor. Office of Health Protection: 605-773-4945.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
At least one person in charge at each establishment must be a certified food service manager, from an approved eight-hour course such as ServSafe, and a new establishment must have that manager before it opens. If the certified manager leaves, replace them within 90 days.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
Apply at the city finance office; the council publishes notice, holds a hearing and votes, then sends the approved application to the Department of Revenue, which issues the license. A full-service restaurant license requires that prepared food, not alcohol, be the primary source of revenue. Beer and wine bars often run on the malt beverage and farm wine license, which carries no quota. Ask the city finance office for its current fee sheet and whether an on-sale license is available before signing a lease.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
The state license is applied for directly with the Department of Revenue, not the city. A manufacturer may sell its own beer to consumers at the brewery for on-sale and off-sale consumption; the federal TTB brewer’s notice comes first and the premises must pass zoning and the Department of Health food license if food is served. Ask the Department whether your taproom plan also needs the city’s malt beverage retail license.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Register within the first quarter you pay wages. Report each new hire and rehire within 20 days of the first day of work. No South Dakota law requires an employer to carry workers’ compensation insurance, but the Department strongly recommends it: an uninsured employer loses its defenses and can be sued by an injured worker for damages, or for medical costs and double benefits (SDCL 62-3-11). Rate notices for the next year are mailed by the end of October.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the brewery taprooms already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a brewery taproom at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The brewery taproom check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State filing fee schedule and annual report instructions; 2025 House Bill 1024 (annual report fee increase, July 1, 2025); Secretary of State business name registration instructions (SDCL 37-11); IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue tax license application and sales and use tax guide (2026); bars and restaurants tax facts (July 2026); Governor’s Office of Economic Development licensing and registering guide; municipal ordinances; Municipal zoning and building ordinances; South Dakota Municipal League; Department of Health food service license application (SDCL 34-18-9 and 34-18-11); ARSD 44:02; ARSD 44:02:07:03 and 44:02:07:98; Department of Health food service manager training page; SDCL 35-4-2 (license classes and fees), 35-4-11 (quota), 35-4-117 (full-service restaurant license price); Department of Revenue liquor retailer license pages; municipal ordinances; SDCL 35-4-2 (microbrewery and malt beverage manufacturer fees); Department of Revenue manufacturer’s license page; Department of Labor and Regulation reemployment assistance for businesses pages and FAQ (2026 wage base and new employer rates); new hire reporting requirements; Division of Workers’ Compensation; U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.
Questions about opening here.
11 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the annual report, fictitious business name (dba) registration, employer identification number (ein), sales tax license, municipal business license, where the city requires one and zoning approval, building permit and certificate of occupancy, and 5 more.
South Dakota Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, South Dakota Department of Revenue, Your city finance office, Your city or county planning and building departments and South Dakota Department of Health, and 2 more.
With articles of organization (llc) and the annual report (South Dakota Secretary of State), then fictitious business name (dba) registration. The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: on-sale liquor license, full-service restaurant on-sale license, or retail on-off sale malt beverage and farm wine license and microbrewery or malt beverage manufacturer license. The local license usually comes first.
Each item's fee, renewal cycle and official page are shown to members, as the agency published them on the date checked. Cities and counties add their own fees.
How to open a brewery taproom in South Dakota (2026) | DoorWorthy
