PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — A new ‘Public Open Records Request’ portal has been launched by the State of South Dakota.

The new portal, housed within the sd.gov website, requires an account to be made for the submission of records requests, requiring name, address and a phone number to verify the account.

Once an account is made, you are able to select the agency from which you would like to request records and type up a synopsis of the ‘service’ you are seeking.

KELOLAND News learned of the new portal during the submission of a request to the South Dakota Dept. of Transportation on September 7, 2023, being told via email:

To better serve our citizens, the State of South Dakota launched the Public Record Portal. As of today, all public record requests are made through the Public Record Portal, available on the SD.gov Citizen Portal. Please submit your records request there.

Portion of an email in response to a request for records to the SD DOT

On the landing page for the new portal it is noted that the ‘Service Type’ for the portal is ‘Citizen Services Category’ and that the state department which it is under is ‘GOV – Governor’s Office.’

Along with this is a message asking that all open records request inquiries be directed to the portal.

Based on further communication with the DOT, KELOLAND News was informed that while records requests are to be channeled through the portal, things such as routine questions and interview requests may still be directed to the individual departments themselves.

KELOLAND News has reached out to the Governor’s Office via email to inquire whether this means that all records requests will need to be filed through the portal, rather than with the existing communications personnel employed within each individual department. If and when we receive a response, we will update this story.