SOUTH DAKOTA

The first state law was 1905 Chapter 137, passed February 24, 1905, effective immediately, although registration of motor vehicles did not actually start until May 4, 1905.  Owners of all motor vehicles, including motorcycles, were required to file a one-time $1 fee with the Secretary of State and display a state-issued disc, an owner-provided rear plate with 3-inch-tall numbers and a 2-inch-tall "SD" state abbreviation, as well as their assigned number in 1-inch-tall headlight numbers.  Non-residents were exempted and local registration by cities was prohibited.  The highest known disc is #15769, while the highest known pre-state plate is #16688.  Both are expected to have reached about #18000.  From the Secretary of State's biennial reports, numbers issued by calendar year (and totals by year) are listed in the following table:

      1905       1 -   357     (357)

      1906     358 -   608     (251)

      1907     609 -   922     (314)

      1908     923 -  1746     (824)

      1909    1747 -  3850   (2,104)

      1910    3851 -  7915   (4,065)

      1911    7916 - 11303   (3,388)

      1912   11304 - 17692   (6,389)

      1913   17693 -   ?

The next state law, 1913 Chapter 276, was passed March 13, 1913, effective July 1, 1913, although preparations could have started up to 90 days prior to July 1, which would have been April 3, 1913.  According to period news articles, the new plates were to be ready to issue by June 15, 1913.  This law required owners of automobiles to pay an annual $6 fee to their County Treasurer.  Upon receipt of payment, the Secretary of State then issued a pair of annual plates.  Discs and headlight numbers were discontinued.  The 1913, 1914 and 1915 plates were undated but each had different color schemes as follows:  1913 Black on White, 1914 White on Red, 1915 Yellow on Black.  Number fonts varied as well.

The registration year was January 1 to December 31.  Half rates were in effect for 1913, and after July 1 in each following year as well.  Automobiles registered for five or more years starting in 1914 (including retroactively before 1913) also paid the $3 rate.  This discount did not affect July-to-December registrations which were already at half rate.  Motorcycle owners paid a fee of $2 and dealers paid $10 plus $1 for each additional plate needed beyond the first pair.  Half rates did not apply at all to motorcycle or dealer plates except for half-year rates for motorcycles in 1913 only.  Non-residents were exempted just as in 1905-13.  The 1913 registration totals by vehicle type, and highest known plate numbers, appear in the table below:

1913                     PASSENGER   MOTORCYCLE   DEALER

Total registrations:       14,457      1,212        300

Highest number known:     #14048       #1201      #D746-