A 13-year-old finishes an approved online HuntSAFE course. What must come next?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
A 14-year-old moved to South Dakota with a hunter education certificate from a Canadian province. Does section 41-7-1 accept it?SDCL § 41-7-1
A 15-year-old cannot find the certificate but held a hunting license last year. What does section 41-7-1 allow?SDCL § 41-7-1
A 17-year-old finishes one of the approved online independent study courses. Is a field day required?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
An 11-year-old passes a HuntSAFE class in March. What does the department say about the card?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
For which ages does Game, Fish and Parks say a HuntSAFE course is required?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
From what age are the self-paced online HuntSAFE courses open?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
How many scheduled HuntSAFE course meetings may a student miss?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
Is bowhunter education required to hunt with a bow in South Dakota?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
Show all 76 questions (67 more)
HuntSAFE and the certificate, continued
Under section 41-7-1, a regular hunting license may not be issued without a hunter safety certificate to a child under what age?SDCL § 41-7-1
Until a student turns 16, who presents the HuntSAFE card when the young person's license is bought?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
What does section 41-7-2 say the course trains students in?SDCL § 41-7-2
What ends a HuntSAFE classroom course, according to the department?South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Hunter Education page
Which license is left outside the certificate rule of section 41-7-1?SDCL § 41-7-1
Who must provide, by rule, for the state's course of instruction for young hunters?SDCL § 41-7-2
Young hunters and mentors 12
A licensed 14-year-old goes pheasant hunting. Who must be along under section 41-6-13?SDCL § 41-6-13
An 11-year-old turns 12 on November 3. From what date may that child hunt on a license?SDCL § 41-6-12
From what age may a young person be granted a hunting preference point?SDCL § 41-6-12
How many mentored children may one hunting mentor accompany at a time?SDCL § 41-6-81
May a hunting mentor carry a shotgun and hunt beside the mentored child?SDCL § 41-6-81
May a parent lend a deer tag to a teenager who did not draw one?SDCL § 41-6-71
Outside the mentored youth program, what is the youngest age at which a hunting license may be granted?SDCL § 41-6-12
To whom may a mentored youth hunting license be issued?SDCL § 41-6-81
What must a hunting mentor have completed?SDCL § 41-6-81
When a mentored child fires, where must the mentor be?SDCL § 41-6-81
Who may ask a hunter to show a license under section 41-6-63?SDCL § 41-6-63
Who may serve as a hunting mentor besides the child's parent or guardian?SDCL § 41-6-81
Orange, arms, lights and vehicles 22
A crossbow used in the firearm season on a big game license must have what?SDCL § 41-8-31.1
A duck boat has an outboard motor. When may its hunters shoot from it?SDCL § 41-8-36
A hunter sets out a salt block and builds a blind beside it for deer season. What does the law say?SDCL § 41-8-16
A landowner may let a drone spot coyotes over his own land, but never in which months?SDCL § 41-8-39
A landowner may use a spotlight on his own land under section 41-8-17.1 with how many guests?SDCL § 41-8-17.1
Besides shooting with a firearm, how else may game birds and animals be taken under section 41-8-31?SDCL § 41-8-31
Between which hours is it unlawful to cast a spotlight into a field to locate an animal while holding a firearm?SDCL § 41-8-17
Does the party hunting rule of section 41-8-43 reach migratory birds?SDCL § 41-8-43
For which big game animals does the fluorescent garment rule of section 41-8-41 not apply?SDCL § 41-8-41
How many cartridges may a self-loading firearm hold and still be used on big game?SDCL § 41-8-11
May buckshot be used to hunt big game in South Dakota?SDCL § 41-8-13
Three licensed friends hunt pheasants as a party. What contact must they keep to share a limit?SDCL § 41-8-43
What caps the small game a hunting party may take in a day?SDCL § 41-8-43
What is the lightest single ball or rifled slug allowed for big game?SDCL § 41-8-13
What is the smallest projectile a muzzle loading rifle may fire at big game?SDCL § 41-8-10
What must a person hunting deer with a firearm wear above the waist?SDCL § 41-8-41
When may a dog help on a deer hunt?SDCL § 41-8-15
Which firearm may never be used to hunt big game or small game?SDCL § 41-8-12
Which of these counts as an "exterior garment" under section 41-8-41?SDCL § 41-8-41
Which of these may be shot at by a person in or on a motor vehicle?SDCL § 41-8-37
Which use of a handheld light at night does section 41-8-17 allow a person on foot?SDCL § 41-8-17
With no firearm along, when is spotlighting fields to look at wild animals still barred?SDCL § 41-8-17.1
Private land and road hunting 16
A hunter is convicted of knowingly firing inside a marked and posted 660-foot zone. What must the court add?SDCL § 41-9-1.1
A lawfully shot deer falls in a road ditch. May it be picked up there?SDCL § 41-9-1.2
A pheasant shot from the road falls on private land. May the hunter walk in for it?SDCL § 41-9-8
A road hunter fires at a pheasant from 20 yards in front of the parked pickup. How must the pickup be left?SDCL § 41-9-1.5
A second trespass finding within ten years revokes hunting privileges for how long?SDCL § 41-9-8
Besides an occupied dwelling, a church and a schoolhouse, what else is ringed by the 660-foot safety zone?SDCL § 41-9-1.1
How wide is the safety zone around an occupied dwelling for a hunter on a road right-of-way?SDCL § 41-9-1.1
Hunters drive to a tract of school and public lands open to hunting. Where must the vehicle stay?SDCL § 41-9-10
On private land, who else besides an officer may ask a hunter to show a license?SDCL § 41-9-11
The road hunter has walked 80 yards from the vehicle before shooting. What does the law require of the vehicle?SDCL § 41-9-1.5
What follows a finding that a person knowingly entered private land to hunt without permission?SDCL § 41-9-8
Which big game animal may be shot at from the right-of-way of an improved public highway?SDCL § 41-9-1.2
Which small game may not be shot from a highway right-of-way under section 41-9-1.1?SDCL § 41-9-1.1
Who may put up no-hunting signs on a piece of private land?SDCL § 41-9-4
Who, besides the owner, may shoot from the right-of-way inside the safety zone?SDCL § 41-9-1.1
Whose permission does a hunter need before hunting on private land?SDCL § 41-9-1
Waste, interference and penalties 11
A driver hits a deer and wants to keep it. What must be done before taking it?SDCL § 41-1-5.7
A hunter's careless shot damages a rancher's equipment. What does section 41-9-9 say?SDCL § 41-9-9
A protester bangs pans to scare geese away from lawful hunters. What does section 41-1-8 call this?SDCL § 41-1-8
A road hunter negligently puts another person in fear of serious harm. What grade of offense is that?SDCL § 41-9-1.6
A second conviction for hunting big game at night is what grade of crime?SDCL § 41-8-18
Does the interference law stop a landowner from withdrawing permission to hunt?SDCL § 41-1-8
Someone humanely puts down a deer badly hurt in a crash. Within what time must it be reported?SDCL § 41-1-13
To whom do game birds and game animals belong under section 41-1-2?SDCL § 41-1-2
What civil damages does the state claim for one unlawfully killed nontrophy white-tailed deer?SDCL § 41-1-5.1
What does section 41-1-4 forbid?SDCL § 41-1-4
What is the least fine for each animal when a person is convicted of taking a deer in a closed season?SDCL § 41-8-18
How this list was compiled: Written from the South Dakota Codified Laws as the Legislature publishes them at https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/41 : chapter 41-1 (definitions and general provisions), chapter 41-6 (licenses, the minimum age, the mentored youth license), chapter 41-7 (firearms safety instruction), chapter 41-8 (hunting restrictions) and chapter 41-9 (trespass and road rights-of-way). All were read on 2026-10-13; each question names its section. The course facts (who must take HuntSAFE, the written test, attendance, the online course and its field day) are the Department of Game, Fish and Parks' own, read the same day on its Hunter Education page at https://gfp.sd.gov/hunter-education/ ; that page is the published outline this page follows. The department publishes no question count, pass mark or time limit for the course test on that page, so none is given here. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the text of the South Dakota Codified Laws and the facts on the Department of Game, Fish and Parks' public page; nothing is copied from a hunter education manual, a study guide, an online course, a chapter review or an examination.
How it works
An unofficial South Dakota hunter safety practice test for HuntSAFE students: our own questions from Title 41 of the Codified Laws, each with its section. Firearm handling is taught in the class and at the field day.
Read the full guide
Hunter safety practice test: South Dakota rules to know
A firearm big game hunter wears a fluorescent orange or pink garment above the waist. Private land takes the owner's or lessee's permission. On a road right-of-way, shooting within 660 feet of an occupied dwelling, church, schoolhouse or livestock takes the owner's written permission.
What the course is
A HuntSAFE classroom course ends in a written test; an online course is followed by a field day for anyone under 16. Game, Fish and Parks publishes no question count or pass mark, so none is claimed here.
Within 50 yards of the vehicle, a road hunter shuts every door and turns the engine off.
A license or a tag is never transferable.
Questions and answers
Who needs hunter safety in South Dakota?
Hunters aged 12 through 15. Section 41-7-1 lets no regular hunting license go to a child under 16 without a hunter safety certificate, one from another state or province, or a license held this year or last.
How old do you have to be to take HuntSAFE?
Eleven-year-olds may take the class, but the card is not valid until the 12th birthday. A child who turns 12 between September 1 and December 31 may hunt from September 1 of that year.
Can a child hunt in South Dakota without HuntSAFE?
Yes, on a mentored youth hunting license, for a child under 16. The mentor is an unarmed adult who has passed hunter safety, has the parent's consent and accompanies one child at a time.
Do adults need hunter safety in South Dakota?
No. Section 41-7-1 asks a certificate only of children under 16. The department welcomes participants of all ages in its classes.
Is this the official HuntSAFE test?
No. It is unofficial and not affiliated with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks. The questions are our own, written from the Codified Laws; none comes from the department's test or its course material.