What a real estate agent's website must show in South Dakota

Does a website count as advertising in South Dakota?

• Advertising is any attempt, by publication or broadcast, oral, written or otherwise, to induce a person to use a licensee's or firm's services. It does not list media or carve any out, so a website and social media are covered. There is no website-specific provision. SDCL 36-21A-2SDCL 36-21A-72

  “an advertisement or advertising is any attempt, by publication or broadcast, whether oral, written or otherwise, to induce a person to use the services of a licensed real estate broker, real estate salesman or real estate firm”

What every advertisement must show

• The name of the firm you are associated with, clearly stated, in each advertisement. SDCL 36-21A-72

  “Each advertisement shall clearly state the name of the firm with which an individual licensee is associated”

• A clear disclosure that the advertised services are offered by a licensee, in any ad seeking listings or offering to buy, sell or lease property or do anything else that needs a license. SDCL 36-21A-72

Websites specifically

• There is no website-specific rule. A website is advertising like any other, so it clearly states your firm's name and that the services are offered by a licensee. SDCL 36-21A-72

Team names

• Each team ad must clearly state the name of the brokerage company the team is affiliated with and clearly identify any unlicensed individuals included in it. SDCL 36-21A-72

  “Each advertisement of a real estate team shall clearly state the name of the brokerage company the team is affiliated with, shall clearly identify the nonlicensed individuals included in the advertisement, and may not contain language that would lead the public to believe that the team is offering real estate brokerage services independent of the real estate broker”

• Team ads may not suggest the team offers brokerage services independently of the broker. The team leader gives the responsible broker a current list of licensed team members, with any change within 72 hours. SDCL 36-21A-72ARSD 20:69:18:01

What gets agents in trouble

• An announcement in any media giving the impression a property sold for a price other than its actual selling price. SDCL 36-21A-72

• Team advertising that suggests the team is a brokerage independent of the broker. SDCL 36-21A-72

Worth knowing

• You may advertise your own property for sale or lease in your individual name, but the ad must disclose that the owner is a licensee. SDCL 36-21A-72

• SDCL 36-21A-72 does not require a license number, phone number or address; it requires the firm's name and a licensee disclosure. SDCL 36-21A-72

How many agents this applies to

316 real estate agents were working in South Dakota when we last counted, across 3 brokerage offices. That is agents with a live profile on a brokerage's own site, not everyone holding a licence, so it is the population these rules actually bind day to day. The South Dakota brokerage directory breaks it down office by office. Counted 2026-10-07.

Sources

This page paraphrases the rules; the rules themselves are what bind you. Each was read on the date shown. If the Commission changes a rule, the page will lag until it is read again.

• SDCL 36-21A-72 — Restrictions on licensee advertising — read 2026-10-07
• SDCL 36-21A-2 — Advertisement and advertising defined — read 2026-10-07
• ARSD 20:69:18:01 — Team list required — read 2026-10-07
• Regulator: South Dakota Real Estate Commission (Department of Labor and Regulation)

Not legal advice. When a rule and this page disagree, the rule wins; when in doubt, ask your broker or the Commission.

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