South Dakota HB 1053 (Age Verification)

South Dakota, United StatesSD HB 1053Updated July 1, 2025

100%became law
Bad for your rightsLaw
  1. Introduced
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Became Law

In force

South Dakota's 2025 adult-site age check, enforced with criminal charges that escalate to a felony for repeat offenders.

Latest update

Took effect

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The bill

Read the full billOfficial bill record

Key facts

Where
South Dakota, United States
Bill number
SD HB 1053
Status
Law
Threat
High
Last update
July 1, 2025

Topics

Age VerificationDigital ID

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What it does

South Dakota HB 1053 makes any covered platform that hosts material harmful to minors run a reasonable age check confirming a user is 18, accepting a state ID or transaction data. A first violation is a misdemeanor and a second is a felony, enforced by the Attorney General, with reporting that parents can also sue.

What’s at stake

South Dakota is one of the handful of states that made this a crime rather than a civil violation, escalating to a felony on the second strike. Criminal exposure pushes operators to either verify aggressively or block the state entirely.

Our take

South Dakota followed Texas with a broad digital-ID law and backed it with criminal penalties. When the choice for a site is felony risk or a hard ID gate on every visitor, the gate is what South Dakotans get.

Timeline

  1. Took effectLatest

  2. Signed into law

The record

Sponsor

Rep. Bethany Soye

Votes

  • House: Passed (61 to 5), January 21, 2025
  • Senate: Passed (34 to 0), February 19, 2025