SB35 amends SDCL §33A-2-8 to change how county registers of deeds handle certificates of discharge. The bill directs registers to record a veteran's certificate of discharge free of charge and to supply certified copies at no cost, but limits free access to a defined set of recipients (the veteran, certain representatives and service officers, a designated designee, and next of kin for deceased veterans).
It also requires requesters to submit a Department of Veterans Affairs–provided form that attests to their eligibility.
This matters because it standardizes who can obtain certified discharge documents from county offices and attempts to streamline access for claims and benefit processing. At the same time, it creates new administrative duties for county registers of deeds and the state Department of Veterans Affairs — and it raises practical questions about verification, privacy, and who absorbs the cost of providing records free of charge.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill requires county registers of deeds to record veterans’ certificates of discharge without charge and to provide certified copies without charge to a specific, enumerated list of recipients. It requires requesters to submit a Department of Veterans Affairs form declaring their eligibility to receive the document and excludes copies that do not show the veteran’s character of discharge.
Who It Affects
County registers of deeds and their staff, the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs (which must supply eligibility forms), veterans and their designated representatives, county-employed and tribal-appointed veterans service officers, and nationally accredited veterans' organization service officers.
Why It Matters
By specifying who may receive certified discharges and mandating a uniform form, the bill reduces ambiguity for claim filers and veteran advocates but shifts verification and cost burdens to county offices and the Department of Veterans Affairs, with potential privacy and operational consequences.
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What This Bill Actually Does
Under SB35 a veteran can have a discharge certificate recorded in their county’s register of deeds at no filing cost. The change is intended to make the recorded document part of the county land-records system (or its equivalent for registers), so the recorded certificate is available in that office’s files.
If someone needs a certified copy, the register must provide one without charge only if the requester falls into one of the narrowly defined categories: the veteran themself, an official or representative of the Department of Veterans Affairs, an individual the veteran has expressly designated, a legal representative, certain veterans service officers (either county-employed or tribal-appointed), nationally accredited veterans service organization representatives, or the veteran’s next of kin when the veteran is deceased. The bill bars release of versions that do not display the veteran’s character of discharge.Every requester must present a completed form that the Department of Veterans Affairs supplies; that form is the mechanism the register uses to confirm the requester’s eligibility under the statute.
The bill does not describe additional authentication steps, timelines for production, or any funding or reimbursement for counties providing records and certified copies free of charge.Practically, counties will need to adopt a consistent intake process for these requests (collecting the Department form, matching it against recorded certificates, producing certified copies) while balancing data privacy and potential third-party requests. Veteran service officers and accredited organization representatives gain clearer access to records needed for benefit claims, but county registers become the front line for verifying eligibility under a single statutory attestation form.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill amends SDCL §33A-2-8 to require county registers of deeds to record a veteran’s certificate of discharge without charge.
Certified copies must be furnished without charge only to a closed list of recipients: the veteran; a VA Department representative; an individual designated by the veteran; the veteran’s legal representative; county-employed or tribal-appointed veterans service officers; nationally accredited veterans’ organization service officers; and the veteran’s next of kin if deceased.
Versions of a discharge that do not show the veteran’s character of discharge are not subject to release under this section.
Requesters must submit a Department of Veterans Affairs–provided form that discloses and attests to their eligibility before a register of deeds will issue a certified copy.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is required to provide the eligibility forms to each county register of deeds; the bill contains no appropriation or reimbursement for counties to cover the cost of producing free certified copies.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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No-fee recording and purpose-limited earlier provision
The amendment keeps the long-standing rule that a veteran’s certificate of discharge is to be recorded without charge and reiterates that copies historically furnished without charge were intended for use in prosecuting compensation or pension claims. Practically, this preserves free recording but signals that routine public access remains constrained to specific purposes unless the requester meets the new eligibility criteria.
Closed list of authorized recipients for free certified copies
This portion creates a definitive, seven-item list of who may obtain a free certified copy. The list is narrowly drawn and includes both individual actors (the veteran, designee, legal representative, next of kin if deceased) and institutional actors (Department representatives, county/tribal veterans service officers, nationally accredited service organization reps). For county offices, the list simplifies decision-making by replacing case-by-case discretion with a statutory checklist — but it also requires clerks to identify which category an applicant falls into and to maintain appropriate documentation.
Excludes redacted or incomplete discharge versions
The bill explicitly bars release of any recorded version that does not include the veteran’s type or character of discharge. That protects the state from distributing redacted or truncated documents that lack the key element used to adjudicate benefits, but it also raises procedural questions when the only recorded document lacks that information — the statute provides no alternative route for access in those cases.
Eligibility attestation form and Department of Veterans Affairs’ role
The statute requires an eligibility attestation form — created and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs — as the primary verification tool for registers. In effect, the Department sets the content of the authorization and counties rely on that attestation instead of independent investigation. The section does not specify what evidence must accompany the attestation, how long the form remains valid, or what safeguards to use against fraudulent or erroneous attestations.
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Explore Veterans in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Veterans applying for federal benefits — clearer, fee-free recording and a defined access route for certified discharges reduces friction when presenting evidence for claims.
- County-employed veterans service officers and tribal-appointed VSOs — statutory access to certified copies streamlines their casework and reduces administrative barriers when assisting claimants.
- Nationally accredited veterans’ organization service officers — explicit statutory access enables these representatives to obtain documents necessary to file or prosecute claims without charge, improving service delivery.
Who Bears the Cost
- County registers of deeds and their offices — required to record and produce certified copies without charge, process the Department form, and implement intake and verification procedures with no statutory appropriation.
- South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs — must design, distribute, and (implicitly) maintain the eligibility attestation form and possibly provide guidance or training to county registers without dedicated funding in the bill.
- Veterans concerned about privacy — expanding third-party access (designated individuals, accredited reps) increases the number of people who can receive sensitive discharge information, creating privacy risk and potential for misuse if designation controls are weak.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
SB35 balances two legitimate goals — making veterans’ discharge documents more accessible to claimants and their advocates, and protecting sensitive personnel information — but does so by centralizing access through a statutorily defined eligibility attestation while shifting verification, privacy risk, and financial burden to county registers and the Department of Veterans Affairs without laying out verification standards or funding.
The bill creates a straightforward statutory channel for accessing discharge records, but it leaves several practical implementation details unresolved. The eligibility attestation form is the linchpin of the new process, yet the statute says nothing about the form’s required contents, what supporting documentation (if any) a register may demand, whether forms must be notarized, or how long a designation remains effective.
That gap creates exposure for counties, which must decide locally how strictly to verify attestations or risk releasing records improperly.
Cost and operational burdens are another open question. The statute mandates no fees but also provides no reimbursement to counties for staff time, certified-copy production, or changes to recordkeeping workflows.
Smaller or under-resourced counties may therefore face practical delays or inconsistent implementation. Finally, the exclusion of discharge versions that do not display the type of discharge protects the integrity of benefit determinations but can block access when only redacted or truncated records exist in a county file.
The bill does not offer an alternative path to obtain the missing information from federal sources or clarify interactions with federal privacy rules and National Guard recordkeeping systems.
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