The South Dakota military affidavit

How South Dakota handles it

South Dakota is one of the few states in this region that publishes a standalone document for exactly this purpose. Form UJS-306, Statement of Defendant's Military Status, is a two-part PDF: an instruction page and the one-page statement. The instruction page states the rule without hedging: "Before a default judgment may be entered by the Court the Plaintiff is required to file a statement stating whether the Defendant is in the military service and show necessary facts to support the statement." The caption asks you to write in whether the case is in Magistrate or Circuit Court, the county, and the judicial circuit number.

The statement itself runs four numbered paragraphs. Paragraph 1 is age and competence to make the statement. Paragraph 2 identifies you as the Plaintiff. Paragraph 3 is the one filers skim past: you certify that you "either made a personal investigation or personally reviewed the business record of the defendant." Paragraph 4 is the three-way choice, worded as belief rather than fact: it is my belief the defendant is not in the military on active duty, it is my belief the defendant is in the military on active duty, or I have been unable to determine. A free-text block follows for the basis, ending "and I have attached the necessary documentation."

The instruction page then lists four ways to establish status and what each one obliges you to attach. A Defense Manpower Data Center search requires a printed copy of the certificate the search generates. Contacting each branch of the military requires a response from each branch. Personally asking the defendant, or another individual with sufficient reason to know the defendant's military status, needs no attachment but should be described. And the instructions leave the list open: a plaintiff is "not limited to the options discussed above," and any additional reason "should be explained for review by the court."

Evictions run on their own form. UJS-114, Statement in Support of Motion for Default Judgment (For Eviction), revised 07/2025, carries the military assertion as paragraph 5: "The Defendant/Tenant(s) was not at the time of the commencement of this action and is not now engaged in the military service of the United States of America." That is a single flat assertion with no options, no supporting facts, and no attachment. The same form asks for the date the sheriff served the summons and complaint, and the instruction sheet warns that default in eviction can only be requested after five days from service, excluding weekends and holidays.

The rule the statement satisfies is federal, not state. SDCL 15-6-55(b), read at sdlegislature.gov on August 15, 2026, covers who applies for default judgment, the three days' notice to a party who has appeared, the twenty-day complaint-on-file requirement, and the discretionary security when service was by publication. It says nothing about military status. The Unified Judicial System prints a Legal Form Helpline number, 1-855-784-0004, on the face of both UJS-306 and UJS-114, along with the email ujssrlhelp@ujs.state.sd.us, with the caveat that staff answer form questions and not legal questions.

What trips filers up here

• The same PDF carries two revision dates. The instruction page footer reads "Form UJS-306 Rev. 02/2026" and the statement page footer reads "Form UJS-306 Rev. 04/2026." Cite the one on the page you file.
• The UJS eviction forms page still lists the document as "UJS-306 Affidavit of Military Status." The current form is titled Statement of Defendant's Military Status and is signed as a declaration, not sworn as an affidavit.
• Paragraph 3 makes you swear to an investigation before paragraph 4 lets you state a conclusion. A plaintiff who ran no search and asked nobody has already made a false statement by the time they reach the checkboxes.
• The eviction form UJS-114 has no unable-to-determine option, so a landlord who cannot confirm status has to file UJS-306 alongside it rather than rely on paragraph 5.

Signing it: declaration, no notary

The 2026 revision closes with "I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of South Dakota that the foregoing is true and correct," a signing date, and the city or other location and state. There is no notary or clerk jurat on the current form, which is a change from the older guidance that told filers to sign in front of a Notary Public or Clerk of Courts.

No notary is needed. The signature block is an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury, which is what 50 U.S.C. § 3931(b)(4) expressly allows. Signing it knowing the military statement is false is still a federal crime, and a state perjury exposure on top.

South Dakota law on top of the federal rule

SDCL § 33A-2-9: Any South Dakota resident who is a member of any state's National Guard and is ordered to active duty service by that state's governor or by the President "has all protections afforded to persons serving on federal active duty by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act," plus USERRA rights. Verified at sdlegislature.gov on August 15, 2026. Guard members on a governor's order are the group most likely to come back blank from a Defense Manpower Data Center search.

Getting the military-status answer right

The affidavit is only as good as the search behind it. The Defense Manpower Data Center runs the free lookup that courts and creditors rely on, and since 2026 it requires a free account even for a single record. Our guide to the DMDC SCRA website covers the search itself, what a "no information found" result does and does not prove, and the batch route for high-volume filers. The federal rules behind this form, including what happens when you genuinely cannot determine status, sit on the hub page.

If one was filed against you

A false affidavit is not a technicality. In May 2026 the Justice Department settled with a Florida property manager that swore a Navy sailor was not on active duty, took a default eviction judgment, and left him with an eviction on his record that a dozen landlords then refused to rent around: $60,000 to one servicemember plus a civil penalty . If a default judgment was entered against you while you were serving, it can be reopened; the default-judgment shield walks the deadlines.

Serving in South Dakota and looking for what the state adds to your own protections rather than court procedure? That is a different page: South Dakota SCRA benefits.