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South Dakota Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Estimate a South Dakota workers' comp premium from payroll, a rate per $100 and your experience mod. Default rates are illustrative.

Regulator
South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Division of Labor and Management
Market Type
Private insurers (no law requires coverage)
Rating Organization
NCCI
Class System
NCCI class codes
Step 1 — Your Business
About Your South Dakota Business
Step 2 — Experience & Claims
Your Claims History
Total Incurred ($)
# of Claims
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Step 3 — Compare Options
Coverage Options
Your Results
Premium Estimate
Estimated Annual Premium
$0
Payroll/100 × Rate × EMR
YearEstimate
Illustrative Mod Path (3 Years)
Current Path
PEO Path

An estimate, not a quote. How this calculator works.

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Workers' comp in South Dakota: what's different

South Dakota is unusual. The Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) says no state law requires an employer to carry workers' comp, though it highly recommends it. The statute tells employers under the act they "shall secure" payment through insurance or approved self-insurance, but sets no fine for failing to. An employer that skips coverage instead loses the lawsuit protection insured employers get. Policies come from private insurers, and South Dakota has no state fund. DLR's Division of Labor and Management runs the program and decides disputed claims, while DLR's Division of Insurance oversees rates. NCCI is the rating organization.

Who must carry coverage

Title 62 presumes that every employer and employee have accepted the comp law. For a private employer, that presumption only holds once it has actually secured payment through insurance or approved self-insurance. DLR says the law covers all employers with only limited exceptions. Key exceptions and special cases:

  • Domestic workers. Excluded unless they work for you more than 20 hours in a calendar week and more than six weeks in any 13-week period.
  • Farm and agricultural laborers. Excluded. Custom operators who run threshing machines, combines, corn shellers or similar machines for profit are covered and must insure before operating.
  • Work outside your usual business. A person whose job is not in the usual course of your trade is not an employee under the act.
  • Corporate officers. An executive officer of a for-profit corporation is an employee. The officer can reject coverage by serving written notice on the corporation at election or appointment or more than 30 days before an injury. Officers of nonprofits are outside the act unless the nonprofit includes them in its coverage.
  • LLC members. NCCI's South Dakota assigned risk instructions treat LLC members like corporate officers: covered automatically unless they reject in writing.
  • Sole proprietors and partners. Not covered automatically. An insurer may write a policy that covers an owner who does labor incidental to the business, at the same rates as employees.
  • Independent contractors. A contractor who is not an employer or general contractor and has no comp policy may sign an Affidavit of Exempt Status before starting work. The affidavit creates a rebuttable presumption that the contractor is not an employee. Both parties sign, and the general contractor sends copies to its insurer. Knowingly lying on it is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
  • Out-of-state employers. Where another state accepts South Dakota coverage, South Dakota returns the favor.

Where coverage comes from

You can insure with a stock company, a mutual association, or a reciprocal exchange authorized to write comp in South Dakota. The statute names no state fund.

An employer can self-insure by proving solvency to DLR every year. Security must be at least $250,000, or twice the prior year's claims, or the employer's own reserve figure, whichever is greatest. DLR's self-insurance year runs September 1 to August 31, and the application fee is $2,250. DLR's latest posted list, for September 2025 through August 2026, names 11 self-insured companies.

Deductible policies are allowed; the insurer pays the full claim and bills you the deductible.

Who sets rates

NCCI files advisory prospective loss costs with the Director of Insurance. A loss cost covers projected losses but excludes expenses and profit. Each insurer adds its own loss cost multiplier (LCM) to set its final rates, and insurers must adopt NCCI's loss costs on the date the Director approves. The Division's LCM list, dated August 4, 2026, shows each insurer's latest filed multiplier and says all insurers must adopt the NCCI loss costs effective July 1.

DLR's Workers' Compensation Advisory Council, in its 2026 annual report, says an overall average decrease of 5.1% was approved for voluntary market loss costs for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The council calls it the 15th straight decrease. Assigned risk rates got an approved 4.9% average cut. DLR still posts that report as a draft, and we did not find the Division's approval order online.

Experience rating and merit rating

Accounts that qualify get an experience mod under the experience rating plan NCCI files. Smaller employers that do not qualify fall under a South Dakota rule instead. Insurers must cut the premium of a non-rated employer with no losses above an approved amount over the past three years, and may raise it for one with losses above that amount. A Division of Insurance bulletin also requires insurers to keep offering the Merit Rating Plan to risks that are not experience rated. For experience-rated accounts, insurers may apply schedule rating, with total credits or debits capped at 25%.

If no insurer will write you

State law requires the Director of Insurance to approve a plan that spreads hard-to-place employers among all comp insurers. NCCI administers the plan. You need two refusals, one from your current carrier if you have one. A licensed producer must submit the application; an employer cannot apply to NCCI directly. Assigned risk premium can carry an ARAP surcharge of up to 1.25.

What happens if you go without coverage

There is no fine in Title 62 for simply being uninsured. The consequences fall on you after an injury:

  • You lose the exclusive remedy. An uninsured employer is treated as having elected not to operate under the comp law.
  • The worker picks the forum. An injured worker can sue you for damages in court. Or the worker can bring a comp claim against you in circuit court for medical benefits plus twice the other compensation the law allows. The worker cannot recover from both.
  • Contractors share liability. A principal or intermediate contractor is liable for comp to a subcontractor's injured worker, to the same extent as the immediate employer, for injuries on premises the contractor controls.

Your ongoing obligations

  • Report injuries in seven days. For an injury needing more than minor first aid, or one that keeps a worker off seven or more calendar days, file the First Report of Injury (Form 101) with your insurer within seven calendar days, not counting Sundays and holidays. Self-insurers file with DLR. Missing the deadline is a Class 2 misdemeanor plus a $100 administrative fine.
  • Keep an injury record. Record every injury within seven days, give the worker a copy, and keep it at least four years.
  • Expect notice from workers. An employee must give written notice within three business days of an injury, or as soon as practicable.
  • Post safety information. Display workplace safety postings as DLR rules require.
  • Know your safety reviews. If your premium is $5,000 or more and you have more than five employees, your insurer must offer annual safety reviews, and you must have the insurer conduct one at least every three years. Uncorrected deficiencies can raise your premium.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

Premium = (payroll / 100) x rate per $100 x experience mod

We found no official public South Dakota loss cost for class 5551 (roofing), so every rate below is illustrative, not a South Dakota figure.

  • Hypothetical roofing payroll: $250,000
  • Illustrative advisory loss cost, class 5551: $5.50 per $100 of payroll
  • Illustrative loss cost multiplier: 1.45 (not any insurer's filed figure)
  • Hypothetical experience mod: 0.90

Step by step

  1. Payroll in hundreds: $250,000 / 100 = 2,500
  2. Rate per $100: $5.50 x 1.45 = $7.975
  3. Manual premium: 2,500 x $7.975 = $19,937.50
  4. Apply the mod: $19,937.50 x 0.90 = $17,943.75

Real loss costs, your insurer's filed LCM, and merit or schedule rating will change this figure.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to carry workers' comp in South Dakota?

DLR says no law requires it, and Title 62 sets no fine for going without. But an uninsured employer is treated as having elected out of the comp law, so an injured worker can sue you or claim medical benefits plus double other compensation in circuit court.

Is there a South Dakota state fund?

No. You buy coverage from an authorized private insurer or reciprocal exchange, or you qualify with DLR to self-insure.

Did South Dakota loss costs drop in 2026?

Yes. DLR's advisory council, in a report still posted as a draft, says a 5.1% average decrease in voluntary market loss costs was approved effective July 1, 2026. Your own change depends on your class and your insurer's LCM.

Can a corporate officer opt out?

Yes. A for-profit corporate officer can reject coverage by written notice served on the corporation at election or appointment, or more than 30 days before an injury.

Official sources

Sources accessed 2026-10-17.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Division of Labor and Management.

Reviewer: Sam Newland, CFP, Founder of Benefitra. Last updated October 17, 2026. How the calculator works. Editorial policy.