South Dakota

South Dakota's Veteran Benefits

South Dakota offers a large number of benefits to military veterans and current servicemembers, including VA home loans, free hunting licenses, free tuition, property tax exemptions, and more. They could save you a significant amount of money and improve your quality of life.

Keep reading to learn more about the many benefits you may qualify for as a resident of South Dakota and as someone who has served your country.

Veteran Home Loans

For members of the Air Force who get stationed in South Dakota, or for residents who serve as members of the state's Air National Guard, you might want to consider finding and buying a home near one of the operating bases outlined in the graphic below.


If you're stationed at either base, or you're a veteran residing in South Dakota, you may qualify for a VA loan, a type of home mortgage offered to veterans and current military servicemembers.

Qualifying veterans anywhere in the US can apply for VA loans because they're guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). You'll apply through a VA-approved lender who works with military veterans and personnel in South Dakota.

The major advantages of VA loans are:

  • No need to save up thousands of dollars for a down payment
  • Private mortgage insurance (PMI) payments are not required
  • Lower interest rates than the rates for most conventional mortgages
  • Easier qualifications than many other types of loans

Learn more on our VA Loan webpage or give us a call at 866-569-8272.

Veteran Housing Benefits

South Dakota helps our veterans with housing through property tax exemptions and high-quality state veterans home. The state supports doing everything it can to ensure that its veterans have a place to live.

South Dakota Property Tax Exemption for Veterans

South Dakota has set up special property tax exemptions for eligible veterans. Visit their website to see if any of the exemptions below fit your living situation.

To apply for exemptions, look for the appropriate application on the South Dakota Department of Revenue website.

Exemption for Paraplegic Veterans or Their Surviving Spouse

This benefit gives a property tax exemption on a home (usually on less than one acre of land) that was designed for paraplegics and is wheelchair-friendly. This type of exemption applies if a veteran has lost the use of both lower extremities, and they've owned and lived in the home for at least one full calendar year. The exemption can also be granted to the veteran's widow or widower, if the veteran has passed.

Totally Disabled Veterans and Their Widow or Widower

This benefit exempts $100,000 of the value of a home from taxation if a totally disabled veteran owns and lives in it—as long as the veteran became disabled because of his or her service. This exemption can also apply to a surviving spouse of the veteran.

South Dakota Veterans Home

South Dakota finished the state-of-the-art Michael J. Fitzmaurice Veterans Home in 2016. This home features an inside neighborhood, with a town square, barber shop, post office, pharmacy, physical therapy area, library, warm colors, and other touches that make residents feel at home.

Some of the other benefits include trained therapy staff, 24-hour nursing care professionals, recreational programs, three meals a day, social services, spiritual services, transportation, and other services.

Veterans can be eligible to live there if they were honorably discharged from service and are qualified for veteran benefits. Spouses and surviving spouses can qualify, too. Other necessary qualifications include:

  • The ability to walk, take care of oneself, and clean one's own room
  • No substance abuse problems or mental illness
  • South Dakota residency sometime in the last five years
  • Being unable to work
  • A physical examination within 60 days before applying
  • Married couples can apply to get a shared room together.

Veteran Education & Employment Benefits

In order to help our veterans further their education, and help them get ahead in the job market, South Dakota uses both state and federal programs.

South Dakota Education Benefits

Free Tuition for Veterans

If you qualify, you could take undergraduate courses at a South Dakota state university without having to pay tuition! This is a great value for veterans and can save you a lot of money on your education.

Some of the eligibility guidelines include:

  • Honorably discharged
  • Current resident of South Dakota resident who is eligible for in-state tuition OR meets one of the following requirements:
    • Was active duty any time during 8/2/90 through the present
    • Awarded an Armed Forces Expeditionary medal or other similar medal
    • Have a service disability of 10% or more
    • Not being entitled to the GI Bill's educational payments (or the payments of any other federal educational program)

Free Tuition for Children of Veterans Who Die During Service

A state law provides free tuition for students who are younger than 25. They must have had a mother or father who died during active duty and was a state resident for six months or longer before service, be a South Dakota resident themselves, and be eligible for free tuition at a state school.

Free Tuition for Dependents of POWs and MIAs

Children and spouses of prisoners of war (POWs) and of servicemembers who are missing in action (MIA) can attend a state school with free tuition, as long as they are not receiving equal or great federal funds.

Reduced Tuition for South Dakota National Guard Members

If you're in the National Guard and are eligible for admission to a state-supported school, you can receive a 50% discount on your tuition, even if you're already receiving federal benefits.

This discount is for undergraduate programs with a maximum amount of credits of 128 and for graduate programs with a maximum of 32 credits. It can also be used for one program at a state vocational school.

Additional qualifications include completing National Guard training, being a resident of South Dakota and a National Guard member during schooling, attending 90% of Guard drills and trainings, keeping your grades up, and properly notifying your educational institution before the start of each term that you're pursuing this benefit.

Free Tuition for Dependents of Disabled or Deceased National Guard Members

This benefit allows a child or spouse of a National Guard member to attend school free of charge, if that member died or was permanently disabled because of his or her active duty. This benefit is for use at state-sponsored educational institutions.

Honorary High School Diploma

A veteran can receive an honorary high school diploma in the school district of his or her choice, if they served active duty during any of the following periods:

  • December 7, 1941 – September 2, 1945
  • June 25, 1950 – July 31, 1953
  • February 28, 1961 – May 7, 1975

State Approving Agency

If you're eligible to use veterans education benefits, there are good educational programs in South Dakota you can attend at colleges, universities, and technical schools. South Dakota's State Approving Agency (SAA) reviews and approves these programs—and monitors them to ensure they uphold a high standard of excellence.

A list of all the programs approved by the SAA in South Dakota is available on the VA’s Web Enabled Approval Management System (WEAMS). To use the list:

  1. Visit WEAMS
  2. Click on South Dakota on the US map that appears
  3. A list of educational institutions with approved programs will appear. Click on any of them to see:
    • Their contact information
    • The monthly housing allowance rate codes
    • The name(s) of the certifying official(s) for programs there
  4. Use an institution's contact information to ask staff there about their programs

The South Dakota State Approving Agency shares a location with the VA in Pierre, SD. For more general information, you can call (605) 773-3269. You can also call (605) 773-3648 to reach the school programs department directly or (605) 773-3565 for the training programs.

South Dakota Employment Benefits

On-the-Job Training

Lasting 6–24 months, these programs are full-time paid jobs that allow you to learn a trade through real experience. You need to be eligible for the GI Bill to qualify.

The program offers a wide range of job types for you to choose from, including information technology specialist, police officer, highway maintenance worker, wellness instructor, plant operator, and many more.

Apprenticeship Training

These programs last 24–48 months and provide on-the-job training, along with possible additional training after hours. You must work full-time hours and qualify to use the GI Bill.

These apprenticeships are generally offered for skilled trades, including carpenters, machinists, stone masons, mechanics, plumbers, electricians, and more.

Veteran Employment Preference

South Dakota veterans receive a special preference when applying to government jobs, whether at the level of the state, county, town, or school district. Veterans are guaranteed an interview if they are at least minimally qualified for a job.

This benefit is the same for an unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died during or from military service. Even a living veteran who can't work because of a disability can pass this preference to his or her spouse.

Other Veteran Benefits

There are other benefits that are provided by South Dakota for our veterans, which makes life better for them in many ways.

Bonus

South Dakota military personnel and veterans can receive a $500 bonus if they were legal residents of South Dakota for at least six months before their period of active duty and if they qualify in one or more of the time periods below:

  • Any active duty between 8/2/90 and 3/3/91
  • Service in a hostile area of Southwest Asia between 3/4/91 and 12/31/92
  • Service in a hostile area between 1/1/93 and 9/10/01
  • Any active service between 9/11/01 through present

As part of the qualification, it is important to note that training alone does not qualify you. In addition, veterans with qualifying service during Desert Storm (8/2/90 to 12/31/92) qualifies for one bonus, and veterans with qualifying service after 1/1/93 may receive an additional bonus of $500.

Burial, Funeral Honors, and Headstone Benefits

South Dakota provides a burial allowance of up to $100 to help with burial and funeral costs for veterans who were honorably discharged. This benefit can also be used for the surviving spouse after they pass if their family or estate don't have enough money to cover all of the expenses. In order to qualify, the veteran needs to have been a US citizen for at least a year before entering the service or for a year before their death.

In addition, military service organizations that conduct funeral honors for veterans, can be reimbursed $50 for their services. The organization itself must apply to receive the reimbursement; it will not be paid to the veteran's family.

In addition to the burial allowance, the state of South Dakota will also contribute a $100 headstone setting fee for a government headstone or grave marker. The only qualification is that the veteran must have lived in South Dakota for at least one year before his or her service or before his or her death.

Hunting and Fishing Licenses

Active Duty Hunting & Fishing License

When you come home on leave, if you're a South Dakota resident who's serving on active duty somewhere outside the state, you're allowed to fish and hunt without a license. However, if you wish to hunt migratory birds, you are still required to purchase the proper federal migratory bird stamp and migratory bird certification permit.

Disabled Veteran Permit

For a small administrative fee of $10, you could be entitled to a free 4-year hunting and fishing license if you are a South Dakota resident and qualify in at least one of the three following ways:

  • You're entitled to VA Special Monthly Compensation – K Award or have a veteran's allotment for at least 40% disability
  • You were a prisoner of war (POW)
  • You receive Social Security disability payments

To apply for the permit, please fill out the form and mail it, along with the $10 fee, to:

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
20641 SD Hwy 1806
Ft. Pierre, SD 57532

Provisions for Handicapped Hunters

Veterans who are missing an arm, who are not able to use an arm, or who have to use a wheelchair are permitted to hunt game birds and animals using a crossbow. However, they must first receive a disabled hunter permit (see above).

If a veteran has a disabled hunter permit and is quadriplegic or legally blind, he or she can still claim game birds and animals from a designated hunter. The veteran simply must be physically present and participating.

License Plates

You can get a license plate that showcases your military accomplishments and history, such as if you earned a bronze star, were a POW, received a purple heart, and many others.

Your license plate can also show if you're a veteran or active duty member of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines, or National Guard. Click this link to see all of your license plate options.

Free State Park Admission

As a veteran and resident of South Dakota, you can receive free admission to South Dakota state parks if you meet one or more of these conditions:

  • You were a POW
  • You're entitled to VA Special Monthly Compensation ("K" award)
  • You're rated by the VA as totally disabled from a service-related injury

In addition, you can camp and get electrical hook-ups for half price.

Complete the Disabled Veteran and Prisoner of War Lifetime State Park Entrance License Application. Then, mail it and a copy of the "K" award or a letter from the VA stating your disability status or that you were a POW to:

SD Parks & Recreation
523 E Capitol Ave
Pierre, SD 57501-4521

Veteran Benefits Assistance

The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs (SDDVA) and the South Dakota Veterans Commission (SDVC) exist solely to help veterans and their family members seek and receive the benefits they've earned through their service.

To contact them, call (605) 333-6869 for representatives in Sioux Falls and (605) 773-3269 for representatives in Pierre. Also, each South Dakota county has a County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO) as your local contact. Some Native American reservations also have a Tribal Veterans Service Officer (TVSO).

These officers will help you apply to the benefits programs that you qualify for.

About Low VA Rates

Low VA Rates is VA-approved lender for all types of VA home loans. This has been our main specialty ever since we were founded, which gives us deep expertise in VA home loans that is unmatched by most other lenders.

If you're looking for great VA loan rates in South Dakota, contact us. We'll put in the work to find the veteran loan that's best for you. We can also help any any questions you might have about getting a VA loan in South Dakota.

Contact us today for a no-obligation quote or to get your questions answered: (866) 569-8272.