The South Dakota abbreviation the Postal Service uses is SD, and it is the one to put on any envelope, package or online form. The traditional abbreviation is S.D., which newspapers still place in datelines, and a longer form, S. Dak., turns up in some government style lists and older books.
South Dakota, known as the Mount Rushmore State, has Pierre as its capital. Locals say the name like "peer." The state shares much of its history with North Dakota, so the two sets of codes are worth learning together.
Quick facts
Postal code
SDTraditional abbreviations
S.D. and S. Dak.AP style
S.D. after a dateline city; South Dakota in the textCapital
Pierre (said "peer")Nickname
The Mount Rushmore StateZIP Codes begin with
57Do not mix up with
ND (North Dakota) and SC (South Carolina)
South Dakota abbreviation guide
| Form | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| SD | Mail, shipping, forms, ID cards | Rapid City, SD 57701 |
| S.D. | AP datelines and traditional lists | YANKTON, S.D. |
| S. Dak. | Some federal style lists, older references | Mitchell, S. Dak. |
| South Dakota | Regular sentences | The Badlands in South Dakota glow at sunset. |
Keep it simple: a code box gets SD, and a sentence gets the full name. The dotted forms are mainly for journalism and reference works.
Writing SD on mail
South Dakota's postal code has been SD since 1963, the year two-letter codes arrived to work with ZIP Code addressing. The letters come from South and Dakota. Every local ZIP Code opens with 57.
Postcard from a road trip: "To: The Ortiz Family, 31 Elk Run, Sioux Falls SD 57104." A ZIP Code starting with 58 would belong to North Dakota, so the 57 confirms the state.
You will see SD on state driver's licenses, vehicle titles, hunting tags and in the state field of any online checkout.
S.D. and S. Dak. in print
The dotted forms came first. S.D. is short and is what AP style uses after the city in a dateline. S. Dak. keeps more of the second word, which makes it clearer at a glance and explains why some government style lists and older maps chose it.
News story: "ABERDEEN, S.D. Volunteers planted 2,000 trees along the river this weekend." Further in, the writer refers to "eastern South Dakota," not "eastern S.D."
Neither dotted form should go on mail. For schoolwork, spell out the name in sentences unless a teacher asks otherwise.
SD vs ND, SC and other mix-ups
The Dakotas were admitted to the Union on the same day in 1889, and their codes differ by one letter:
- SD is South Dakota, ZIP Codes from 57.
- ND is North Dakota, ZIP Codes from 58.
- SC is South Carolina, a coastal state in the Southeast.
Outside addresses, SD has other common meanings. Video settings may use SD for standard definition, and on a camera it often refers to a type of memory card. In statistics, SD stands for standard deviation. A city before the letters or a ZIP Code after them means the state. Neighbors include NE for Nebraska, WY for Wyoming, MN, IA and MT.
Example lines with SD
- "Billing address: 18 Canyon Lake Dr, Rapid City, SD 57702."
- "PIERRE, S.D. The state's lawmakers met for a short special session."
- "Our camping trip in South Dakota took us through the Black Hills."
- "Issuing state: SD"
Each one matches the style to the setting: postal code, dateline form or the plain full name.
How to say SD and what to call it
Read it as "S D," one letter at a time, or say "South Dakota." Because the letters are never pronounced as a single word, SD is a postal abbreviation rather than an acronym. Acronym vs abbreviation walks through that distinction, and the state abbreviations page gathers all fifty codes.
Questions people ask
Which postal code does South Dakota use?
It uses SD. Mail and forms take it in capitals, without dots.
Is South Dakota abbreviated S.D. or S. Dak.?
Both are traditional forms. S.D. is the AP style choice for datelines, and S. Dak. is the longer version found in a few federal lists and old maps.
How do you pronounce Pierre, the capital of South Dakota?
Most people in the state say it like "peer," one syllable. It is not said the French way.
How can I tell SD from ND on a form?
Look at the ZIP Code. South Dakota codes begin with 57, while North Dakota codes begin with 58.