How to fill out South Dakota Form 1005

Nine federally recognised tribes have reservations in South Dakota, and a member who lives on their own tribe's Indian country does not owe the 4% motor vehicle excise tax on a purchase. This is the application, and it is the buyer's to file - but it belongs on a seller's list because it changes what the buyer needs from you and because the department's own exemption table gives each tribe a code the buyer has to enter. The two conditions are printed on the form: at the time the vehicle is purchased the applicant must be an enrolled member of a federally recognised Indian tribe, and must reside on Indian country as defined by 18 U.S.C. 1151 in South Dakota that is governed by the tribe in which they are a member.

Written against Form 1005 (no revision printed), issued under South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, claiming exemption from the tax imposed by SDCL 32-5B-1. This is the buyer's application, not yours, and a private seller has no part in filing it. What is worth knowing is what it does not change: the assignment on the back of the certificate still has to be completed, the report of sale is still due at the time of sale, the plates still come off, and the seller's permit is still yours to supply. A tax exemption does not shorten anybody's forty-five days.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank Form 1005 from the sddor.seamlessdocs.com copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our Form 1005 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   The buyer fills this in

   Applicant details

   Name, address, phone and email for the enrolled member claiming the exemption.

   Watch out: This is the address the department writes to. It is not necessarily the physical address at the time of purchase, which the form asks for separately further down.

2. 2
   The buyer fills this in

   Title number and VIN

   The specific vehicle. The application attaches to one title application, not to the applicant generally.

   Watch out: On a private purchase the title number comes off the certificate the seller assigned - so it is one more reason to photograph the face before the paperwork disperses.

3. 3
   The buyer fills this in

   The tax exemption code

   One two-digit code from the table on the form, matching the tribe the applicant is enrolled in.

   Watch out: The codes are not sequential across the list and there is no 27 among them. Read the table rather than counting down it.

4. 4
   The buyer fills this in

   Enrolment, tribe and enrolment number

   The Yes tick, the tribe's name and the applicant's enrolment number.

   Watch out: The tribe named here has to be the same tribe that governs the Indian country in the residence answer below. That match is the whole test.

5. 5
   The buyer fills this in

   County and physical address at the time of purchase

   Where the applicant actually lived on the day the vehicle was bought, as a street address with no PO box.

   Watch out: Six counties need a legal description as well, and the form names them: Moody, Bennett, Mellette, Tripp, Gregory and Charles Mix.

What gets this one rejected

• •Enrolment in one tribe and residence on another tribe's land. The form requires residence on Indian country governed by the tribe in which you are a member - both halves, matched.
• •A PO box as the physical address. The form rules it out in the question itself, because the exemption turns on where the applicant physically lived.
• •Residence as of today rather than as of the purchase date. Both questions are anchored to the time you purchased the vehicle.
• •No tribal identification card. The form marks it required, with the driver's licence as the optional second document.
• •A missing legal description in one of the six named counties. Where reservation boundaries and county lines interleave, the department asks for the legal description rather than the street address alone.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It rides with the title application. The instruction is to submit the completed application along with copies of the tribal identification card, the driver's licence if available, and the title application paperwork to the local county treasurer's office.
• •The exemption is from the excise tax, not from titling. SDCL 32-5B-1 is the tax this releases. The $10 title fee, the $2 technology fee and the registration are unaffected.
• •Each tribe has its own code. The department's exemption table numbers them, and the code entered on this form is the one the county keys against the title record.
• •No notary. The signature block is a declaration under the penalties of law, in the same family as the Unsworn Declaration on the department's other forms.

Every line here was read off Form 1005 (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.