Per-state guide
South Dakota Bar Exam Prep
South Dakota bar exam (non-UBE): fees, deadlines, tested subjects, and recommended prep for the July 2026 and February 2027 administrations.
Key dates & fees
Source-of-truth pulled from the NCBE charts and verified state pages, last reviewed April 27, 2026.
July 2026 administration
ncbe_verified| Exam type | non-UBE |
|---|---|
| Timely deadline | 2026-05-01 |
| Final deadline | 2026-05-01 |
| Late deadlines | — |
| Standard fee | $450 |
| Attorney fee | $450 |
| Repeater fee | $450 |
| Late fee | Not published |
| Laptop fee | $100 |
February 2027 administration
ncbe_verified| Exam type | non-UBE |
|---|---|
| Timely deadline | 2026-11-01 |
| Final deadline | 2026-11-01 |
| Late deadlines | — |
| Standard fee | $450 |
| Attorney fee | $450 |
| Repeater fee | $450 |
| Late fee | Not published |
| Laptop fee | $100 |
Turn South Dakota dates into a daily practice plan
Use the guide to plan your filing and subject coverage, then create a free account for short MBE-style reps, saved progress, and weak-area routing tied to your jurisdiction.
Tested subjects
Current NCBE-heavy exam path with a South Dakota Indian Law component; NextGen planned for July 2027.
South Dakota is mostly national study coverage plus a local Indian Law component, but it has already announced a July 2027 NextGen switch.
National / UBE overlap
Civil Procedure
Constitutional Law
Contracts / Sales
Criminal Law & Procedure
Evidence
Real Property
Torts
Business Associations
State-specific or local focus
Indian Law
Cycle-specific cautions
Conflict of Laws
Family Law / Domestic Relations
Trusts / Estates
Secured Transactions / UCC 9
Board note: South Dakota announced adoption of the NextGen bar exam beginning July 2027.
Practice the subjects South Dakota is likely to test
Use the guide to plan your filing and subject coverage, then create a free account for short MBE-style reps, saved progress, and weak-area routing tied to your jurisdiction.
National resources to pair with South Dakota
Official sources
- NCBE SD non-UBE fees and deadlines chart
- NCBE jurisdiction indexOfficial NCBE entrypoint for jurisdiction-specific admission information.
- South Dakota Board of Bar ExaminersOfficial South Dakota bar examiner portal and current applicant information.
- South Dakota Unified Judicial System NextGen announcementOfficial South Dakota announcement adopting the NextGen bar exam beginning July 2027.
- NCBE NextGen UBE content scopeOfficial NCBE scope for July 2026-February 2028 and July 2028 forward, including foundational concepts and skills-context treatment.
- NCBE help: legacy and NextGen content differencesOfficial NCBE help article noting July 2026 MEE removals and the MPT treatment of family law and trusts and estates.