South Dakota License Reinstatement

Author: A. Ant, CADC-II, Licensing & Accreditation Expert

Disclaimer: This content is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, regulatory, or licensing advice. Requirements change frequently. Consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to your situation.

South Dakota’s addiction treatment rules call revocation “the permanent withdrawal” of an agency’s accreditation, and then, a few sections later, describe how a revoked agency can get it back. ARSD 67:61:02:06 lets the Department of Social Services grant provisional accreditation “to an agency previously accredited to regain accreditation.” We found no waiting period anywhere in the accreditation chapter. So a former agency’s road back is the same six-month provisional path a brand-new program takes, which is short on paper and demanding in practice, because every step is graded.

This guide covers enforcement and recovery for programs DSS accredits under ARSD 67:61, with notes on community mental health centers and on the Department of Health license that residential programs also hold. How those licenses and accreditations fit together is laid out in South Dakota Behavioral Health Licensing.

A Percentage Score Drives DSS Enforcement

Every rule number and deadline in the next three sections is from ARSD 67:61:02 as the Legislature publishes it today. The advice mixed in with them is ours.

DSS measures an agency’s compliance as a percentage. At renewal, under 67:61:02:08, an agency at 90 percent or better gets a three-year certificate, one at 70 to 89 percent gets two years, and one below 70 percent goes on probation “for not more than six months.” The score isn’t the only route to probation. Under 67:61:02:10 the grounds also include failing to follow a plan of correction, serious infractions, falsification, illegal acts, fraud, and refusing to let the department in for a comprehensive survey.

Probation has its own sequence in 67:61:02:11. The agency gets written notice, has 30 days to submit a plan of correction, receives at least one site visit, and then faces a final comprehensive survey. Reach 70 percent on that survey and DSS grants a one-year certificate. Fall short and the outcome is suspension or revocation. Through all of it, 67:61:02:13 bars an agency on probation or suspension from “accepting new clients” until DSS approves its plan of correction, which for most programs is the part that hurts first.

Deadlines After a DSS Action

Fifteen days is not long, and three different steps share it. We’d calendar every one of those dates the day a notice arrives, and send anything time-sensitive by certified mail with a return receipt, which the appeal rule requires in any case. The old statute on suspending or revoking accreditation, SDCL 34-20A-46, was repealed in 2012, so the rule chapter is where the process now lives.

Getting Accreditation Back

Under 67:61:02:01, revocation is “the permanent withdrawal of an alcohol or other drug abuse agency’s accreditation by the department.” The word “permanent” describes that certificate, not the people behind it. The way back is the provisional accreditation rule quoted at the top. A provisional accreditation “expires after six months and may not be extended except with the approval of the department,” and any extension “may not exceed three months” (67:61:02:06). A comprehensive survey has to happen inside that window.

A fresh corporate shell doesn’t skip any of this. Under 67:61:02:19, “A new application for accreditation must be filed if there is a change of ownership, facility, or program.” Our reading is that a returning operator should expect DSS to look at the old file whatever entity name appears on the new application, and should come in with the problems from the revocation already fixed and documented. Nothing in 67:61:02 sets a mandatory wait before reapplying, but that is a conclusion from the rule’s silence, so ask the Office of Licensing and Accreditation at 605.773.3165 before you file.

Community mental health centers follow a parallel chapter. ARSD 67:62:02:01 defines revocation as “the permanent withdrawing of a center’s accreditation,” and 67:62:02:05 likewise allows provisional accreditation “to a center previously accredited to regain accreditation.”

A lapse is a different and simpler problem. Under 67:61:02:04 the department has to get renewal forms to you at least sixty days ahead of expiration, and if DSS’s own survey calendar runs late, 67:61:02:07 allows it to extend the certificate, though “No extension may exceed a period of one year beyond the certificate expiration date.” If the renewal paperwork is late on your side, call DSS before the expiration date rather than after.

The Department of Health License Is a Separate File

Residential programs also hold a Department of Health license as an inpatient chemical dependency treatment facility, and DOH enforces it under its own law. SDCL 34-12-19 lets DOH act on a license for reasons that include “Violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or the rules issued pursuant thereto,” “Permitting, aiding, or abetting the commission of any unlawful act in such institution,” and “Conduct of practices detrimental to the welfare of the patient.” After a DOH survey the plan of correction is due “Within 10 days of the receipt of the statement of deficiencies,” and DOH “may reject the plan of correction if there is no evidence the plan will cause the treatment facility to attain or maintain compliance” (ARSD 44:78:01:07). That is a third of the time DSS allows, so a residential program cited by both agencies in the same month should write the DOH plan first.

Losing the DOH license has teeth that DSS accreditation doesn’t. SDCL 34-12-18 makes operating a health care facility without a license a Class 1 misdemeanor. We haven’t confirmed how DOH handles relicensure after a revocation, so if your DOH license is at risk, talk to the Office of Health Facilities Licensure & Certification early. Its licensing, certification and enforcement contact is Julie Jenssen, 605-773-3901, Julie.Jenssen@state.sd.us.

Event Reports That Shape the Next Survey

How an agency handles serious incidents is part of what DSS sees between surveys. The current rule, 67:61:02:21, is titled “Event notification.” It requires a report to DSS within twenty-four hours of a death not primarily related to the natural course of the client’s illness or underlying condition, permanent harm, severe temporary harm, or an intervention required to sustain life. A follow-up report is due within seventy-two hours with a written description, the client’s name and date of birth, and the agency’s immediate actions. The rule also requires “a root cause analysis policy and procedures.” A fire with structural damage or injury, an evacuation forced by a natural disaster, or a loss of utilities goes to DSS as soon as possible, and so does the loss of a generator, alarms, sprinklers or other critical equipment lasting more than twenty-four hours. DOH-licensed residential programs have a separate list of reports owed to DOH under 44:78:01:06, including suspected abuse or neglect and missing patients. A late or missing report is the kind of finding that turns a routine renewal into a probation discussion, in our experience.

Counselor Credentials After HB 1029

The 2026 counselor law, HB 1029, was requested by the Board of Addiction and Prevention Professionals, signed by the Governor on February 17, 2026, and took effect July 1, 2026, the default date for acts that name none under SDCL 2-14-16. Its enrolled text lists the sanctions the board can impose on a credential holder, from revocation and suspension through censure, reprimand, probation and practice limits to reimbursement of investigation and hearing costs, which the board can order only where there is “clear and convincing evidence of wrongdoing” (SDCL 36-34-23). That section also keeps a credential in effect during an appeal unless the board has suspended it under SDCL 36-34-24. For an agency, a disciplined counselor is also a staffing problem, since 67:61:05:03 requires counselors to hold certification, and supervisees and trainees to hold recognition, before performing any addiction counseling functions.

A Response That Holds Up

DSS scores compliance, so a plan of correction that reads well but doesn’t move the number will fail the final survey. What has worked for programs we’ve helped is unglamorous. Tie each finding to the rule it cites, rewrite the policy, retrain the staff who touch it with dated sign-in sheets, and then audit your own charts against the fix every month until the final survey so you know your percentage before DSS does. If both DSS and DOH have cited you, keep the two plans consistent, because a surveyor from one department may ask to see the other’s.

Frequently Asked Questions

Facing a probation notice or planning a return after revocation in South Dakota? Let’s look at it together.

Sources

• ARSD 67:61:02 (67:61:02:01, :04, :06 to :13, :15 to :21): Accreditation of substance use disorder agencies (checked October 15, 2026)
• ARSD 67:61:02:10 and 67:61:02:11: Reasons for probation and Probation procedures (checked October 15, 2026)
• ARSD 67:61:05:03: Qualifications of addiction counselors (checked October 15, 2026)
• ARSD 67:62:02 (67:62:02:01, :05): Accreditation of community mental health centers (checked October 15, 2026)
• SDCL 34-20A (34-20A-46, repealed by SL 2012, ch 150): Treatment and Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (checked October 15, 2026)
• SDCL 34-12 (34-12-18, 34-12-19): Hospitals and Related Institutions (checked October 15, 2026)
• ARSD 44:78:01:06 and 44:78:01:07: Reports and Plans of correction (checked October 15, 2026)
• South Dakota Department of Health: Health Facility Licensure contacts (checked October 15, 2026)
• DSS Office of Licensing and Accreditation: Behavioral Health (checked October 15, 2026)
• South Dakota Legislature, HB 1029 (2026): bill history, signed by the Governor February 17, 2026, and enrolled text: An Act to revise provisions related to the practice of addiction counseling and prevention services (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
• SDCL 2-14-16: Effective date of acts, and SDCL 36-34 (36-34-23 sanctions): Addiction and Prevention Professionals (checked October 15, 2026)