South Dakota Stalking Protection Orders: The Route for Harassment, Through a Stalking Frame
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · South Dakota · Last updated October 22, 2026
South Dakota has no stand-alone harassment restraining order, and the closest instrument is a stalking protection order that reaches a harassed neighbor or coworker only if the conduct fits the stalking frame of willful, malicious and repeated acts (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-1, 22-19A-8). It is a court order directing someone you are not in a domestic relationship with to stop contacting or following you. The grounds are a closed list: stalking, physical injury from an assault, or a crime of violence, so a single incident or a merely annoying act is not covered. Harassment counts when it is a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at you that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses you and serves no legitimate purpose (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-4). If the person is a spouse, former spouse, partner, co-parent, parent, child or sibling, this is the wrong order and you want a domestic abuse protection order under chapter 25-10 instead (S.D.C.L. 25-10-3.1). No relationship is required for this one (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-8). Relief is for a fixed period of up to five years (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-11), and no filing fee may be charged (S.D.C.L. 16-2-29). This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in South Dakota
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Can a harassment course of conduct support a South Dakota protection order?
Yes, through the stalking frame. Stalking includes willfully, maliciously and repeatedly following or harassing another person, and harassing means a knowing and willful course of conduct that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses and serves no legitimate purpose (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-1, 22-19A-4). A one-off act does not fit.
Do I need a family or household relationship to petition in South Dakota?
No. A petition may be made against any person who violates the stalking statute, or against any other person alleged to have caused physical injury in an assault or committed a crime of violence (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-8). The court's own petition form asks you to describe the relationship, with neighbor and co-worker given as examples.
How long does a South Dakota stalking protection order last?
Relief is granted for a fixed period and may not exceed five years (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-11). That is the same ceiling as the domestic abuse order. The statute allows modification on application, notice and a hearing (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-14), but the sections read do not state a rule for extending an order.
Does it cost anything to file a South Dakota stalking protection order petition?
No filing fee may be required for an action under S.D.C.L. 22-19A-8 or 22-19A-12, according to the statute on clerk fees (S.D.C.L. 16-2-29). Separately, the court may not require an undertaking or security from the petitioner except in exceptional circumstances (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-13).
South Dakota stalking protection order rules at a glance
South Dakota calls its relationship-free order a protection order in cases of stalking, physical injury as a result of an assault, or a crime of violence, and this page uses the plainer name stalking protection order. It is a civil court order, available against someone who is not a spouse, partner or relative, directing that person to stop contacting or following you. What sets South Dakota apart is that harassment is reachable only as a species of stalking: the harassment definition in S.D.C.L. 22-19A-4 supplies the course of conduct, while the stalking statute adds the words willfully, maliciously and repeatedly. The court form puts it concretely by asking who the respondent is to you, with neighbor and co-worker as examples. The domestic abuse order in chapter 25-10 runs on a separate petition form, which shows the two tracks are built apart.
A Minnehaha County hockey parent and a season of messages from another parent
A Sioux Falls father who coaches a youth hockey team has a falling out with another parent over ice time. For four months that parent sends him dozens of messages from new accounts, posts about him in the league group, and waits by his car after practices. No one has been hurt and nothing is a threat. The step this turns on is the ground: the repeated, targeted course of conduct is what could fit stalking under S.D.C.L. 22-19A-1 and 22-19A-4, not the annoyance itself. He completes UJS-121A, describing the other parent as a fellow parent from the league, files with no fee, and requests an ex parte order. Whether the court finds stalking is for the judge.
Relevant Laws
S.D.C.L. 22-19A-8 (petition for a protection order in cases of stalking, assault injury or crime of violence)
Creates the action known as a petition for a protection order in cases of stalking, in cases of physical injury as a result of an assault, or in cases of a crime of violence. Subdivision (1) allows the petition against any person who violates 22-19A-1 or against any other person against whom stalking, assault injury or a crime of violence is alleged, so no domestic relationship is required.
S.D.C.L. 22-19A-1 (stalking)
Provides that no person may willfully, maliciously and repeatedly follow or harass another person, make a credible threat with the intent to place a person in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury, or willfully, maliciously and repeatedly harass another person by means of any verbal, electronic, digital media, mechanical, telegraphic or written communication.
S.D.C.L. 22-19A-4 (definition of harasses)
Defines harasses, for purposes of the chapter, as a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses the person, and which serves no legitimate purpose. This definition is how a harassment course of conduct reaches the order.
S.D.C.L. 22-19A-11 (relief granted by protection order)
Provides that, upon notice and a hearing, if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that stalking has taken place, the court may provide relief. Note that the finding sentence speaks only of stalking, although 22-19A-8 also allows assault injury and crime of violence petitions. Any relief is for a fixed period and may not exceed five years.
S.D.C.L. 22-19A-12 (ex parte temporary order)
Provides for an ex parte temporary protection order, effective for a period of thirty days, except as provided in section 22-19A-12.1, unless for good cause the court grants a continuance. The order issues where the affidavit shows that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage is likely before the adverse party can be heard.
S.D.C.L. 22-19A-14 (modification of terms of protection order)
Provides that, upon application, notice to all parties, and hearing, the court may modify the terms of an existing order for protection. This page does not state whether an order can be extended beyond five years, because the sections read do not address it.
S.D.C.L. 16-2-29 (fees charged by clerk of courts, exemptions)
Provides that no filing fee may be required in any action under 22-19A-8, 22-19A-12, 25-10-3, or 25-10-6. The same exemption covers petitions for the domestic abuse protection order.
S.D.C.L. 25-10-3.1 (domestic abuse protection order, persons entitled to apply)
Lists the relationships that entitle a person to apply for a domestic abuse protection order under chapter 25-10, the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act. A person in one of those relationships with the respondent uses that order, not the stalking protection order. Chapter 25-10 is South Dakota's domestic violence order statute.
S.D.C.L. 25-10-1 (domestic abuse definitions)
Defines the terms for the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act, including domestic abuse as physical harm, attempted physical harm or fear of imminent physical harm between persons in a listed relationship. The contrast with 22-19A is in kind: the stalking order turns on a following or harassing course of conduct or a credible threat.
Form UJS-121A, Petition and Statement for a Protection Order (Stalking, or Physical Injury as a Result of an Assault, or Crime of Violence)
The Unified Judicial System petition, Rev. 07/2026, with UJS-121AJ for juveniles. The form asks you to describe your relationship with the respondent, giving neighbor and co-worker as examples. The domestic abuse petition is a different form, UJS-091A.
Regional Variances
South Dakota stalking protection order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Protection order in cases of stalking, physical injury as a result of an assault, or a crime of violence, called a stalking protection order on this page. It is a narrow order, not a general harassment order (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-8 to 22-19A-16).
Who it covers, and the relationship test
Any person who violates the stalking statute, or any other person against whom stalking, assault injury or a crime of violence is alleged. No relationship is required (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-8). The domestic abuse order, by contrast, is limited to listed relationships (S.D.C.L. 25-10-3.1).
The standard
The court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that stalking has taken place, as the finding sentence is worded (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-11). Stalking is willful, malicious and repeated following or harassing, a credible threat, or repeated harassment by communication (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-1). Harassing is a knowing and willful course of conduct that serves no legitimate purpose (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-4).
Closed list of grounds
Stalking, physical injury as a result of an assault, or a crime of violence. A one-off or merely annoying act is not within the list. The finding sentence in section 11 mentions only stalking even though section 8 also allows the other two petitions, and this page does not say how courts handle that wording.
Ex parte temporary order
Effective for thirty days unless the court grants a continuance for good cause, on an affidavit showing immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage is likely before the other side can be heard (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-12). It stays in effect until the final order is served (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-12.1).
Duration
A fixed period, not to exceed five years (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-11). The domestic abuse order has the same five-year ceiling, so duration does not separate the tracks.
Renewal and modification
The sections read provide for modification of an existing order on application, notice and a hearing (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-14). They do not state a rule on extending an order past five years, and this page does not assert one.
Court and form
Filed in court on form UJS-121A, Rev. 07/2026, with UJS-121AJ for juveniles. The domestic abuse petition is the separate form UJS-091A. Companion forms include UJS-121B, UJS-121C and UJS-121F.
Filing fee
None. No filing fee may be required in an action under S.D.C.L. 22-19A-8 or 22-19A-12 (S.D.C.L. 16-2-29). An undertaking or security is barred except in exceptional circumstances (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-13).
Service
The hearing is set within thirty days of the order setting it, and the respondent must be served at least five days before the hearing (S.D.C.L. 22-19A-10). The sections read do not address who bears service costs.
Firearm provision and violation
Not covered here, because the sections read for this page do not set them out. Read the order you receive and ask the clerk of courts, and do not assume the stalking track matches the domestic abuse track on firearms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other South Dakota guides
Adult Guardianship in South Dakota
Adverse Possession in South Dakota: Twenty Years, or Ten If You Paid the Taxes
Asset Protection Planning in South Dakota (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in South Dakota (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in South Dakota: Year Three Opens the Door, a Filed Affidavit Closes It
Expunging a Criminal Record in South Dakota (2026)
Ready to Draft Your Document?
Get AI-powered legal documents with attorney review included. Plans start at $39.99/mo.
Get Started