How to fill out South Dakota Form 1012

Three forms in one, and only the first is a private seller's. The General Purpose statement is South Dakota's blank affidavit - a printed instruction rather than a form, reading that the following statement of fact is to be used to disclose any information for which an affidavit is required. It is what covers the gaps: the same-person statement a duplicate application needs after a name change, the explanation of how a vehicle was acquired that SDCL 32-3-64 requires for an eleven-year-old car with no record, and any other fact a county treasurer asks to have written down. The Repossession block belongs to lienholders and the Interstate block to people registering an out-of-state-titled vehicle here.

Written against Form 1012 (no revision printed), issued under South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, general-purpose affidavit accepted with a title application. The general-purpose block is not a place to be brief. Where it is being used for the eleven-year no-record route, the statute wants the facts surrounding the applicant's acquisition of the vehicle - who had it before, how it came into your hands, when, and what was paid. Where it is being used to reconcile a name, say plainly that the person named on the title and the person signing are one and the same and give both names. A county treasurer who cannot follow the story from the block alone will send it back, and the affidavit is the only part of the file that carries your explanation.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank Form 1012 from the sddor.seamlessdocs.com copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our Form 1012 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Affiant information

   The person making the statement - name, email and full address.

   Watch out: The affiant is whoever knows the facts, not necessarily the person named on the title. If those differ, say so inside the statement block.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   The vehicle the statement is about

   Year, make, model, title number and VIN, so the affidavit attaches to one record.

   Watch out: Where the affidavit exists because there is no record, the VIN off the vehicle itself is the only identifier - and a title number box left empty is correct rather than incomplete.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Tick General Purpose, and write the facts

   One tick and a block of free text. The form asks for a statement of fact disclosing the information for which an affidavit is required.

   Watch out: Dates, names and amounts. An affidavit that says the vehicle was acquired legitimately tells a county treasurer nothing; one that says who sold it, when and for how much answers the question.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Leave the other two blocks alone

   The repossession paragraph is a lienholder's and the interstate block is for registering a vehicle titled in another state.

   Watch out: They are alternatives, not additions. Ticking a second one turns a straightforward supporting document into a transaction the county has to unpick.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   The declaration, date and place

   Day, month, year and place of signing, then the printed name and signature under penalty of perjury.

   Watch out: You are also signing an indemnity. The paragraph above the signature has you agree to defend the department, at your expense, against claims arising from the title it issues on the strength of this.

What gets this one rejected

• •Ticking two of the three statements. They are alternatives; a repossession affidavit and an interstate registration are different transactions with different attachments.
• •A general-purpose block that states a conclusion instead of facts. The instruction asks for a statement of fact disclosing the information the county needs, not an assertion that everything is in order.
• •Using it to replace an assignment. Nothing on this form transfers ownership, and the manual will not accept anything in place of a required assignment on the certificate.
• •A repossession affidavit from someone who is not the noted lienholder. The manual requires the lender noted on the title to be the applicant for a repossession title.
• •An interstate claim with no out-of-state title behind it. The printed paragraph has the affiant confirm that the vehicle is properly titled or registered under the laws of a named state and that a copy has been given to the county treasurer.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It is a supporting document, always. This form travels with a title application. On its own it produces nothing.
• •The indemnity is the price of the department's trust. The declaration block has the affiant agree to protect and indemnify the department against any and all liabilities and claims which may arise as a result of the title issuance, and to defend any suit at their own expense.
• •No notary. The whole sheet ends in an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury, which is South Dakota's standard - the notarised affidavits in the library are Forms 1013, 1016 and 1023.
• •The eleven-year no-record route runs through it. SDCL 32-3-64 lets a vehicle eleven years old or more with no record be titled on an application, a valid bill of sale identifying the vehicle, the seller, the purchaser and the price, and an affidavit explaining the facts of the acquisition. That affidavit is this one.

Every line here was read off Form 1012 (no revision printed) itself — the PDF is here — and off the South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all South Dakota seller paperwork, or what selling a car in South Dakota involves.