South Dakota Weigh Stations & Ag Inspection

When South Dakota makes you pull in

Every combination over 10,000 lbs must stop at a South Dakota port of entry or temporary truck check (SDCL 32-22-12.1); RVs and buses are exempt. Ports flag open or closed. Bypass an open scale and it's a Class 2 misdemeanor (SDCL 32-33-17): up to 30 days and $500. Drivewyze or PrePass can green-light a legal bypass.

Stations, bypass, and inspection

• Who must stop: Over a weight threshold
• Where the stations are: Four permanent ports of entry sit on the main truck routes at the state's edges (I-90 east-west, I-29 north-south), plus temporary truck checks the Highway Patrol runs elsewhere. Ports post open or closed status. A closed port does not shut off the roving patrols and weigh-in-motion enforcement.
• Bypass: Drivewyze PreClear covers South Dakota's open ports of entry and inspection sites, and PrePass works too (best with a windshield transponder). Green means stay on the mainline; red or no signal means report in. Neither clears an oversize or overweight load, and coverage is site-by-site.
• Ag / border inspection: No agricultural or border produce inspection stations. South Dakota screens trucks for size, weight, and safety at its ports of entry, not for pest quarantine.
• Fine for passing an open station: Failing to stop or knowingly bypassing an open state weighing station in a vehicle over 10,000 lbs gross is a Class 2 misdemeanor (SDCL 32-33-17): up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

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