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What Counts as Night Driving in South Dakota?
You need 10 night hours in South Dakota. The tricky part isn’t the driving. It’s knowing when your hours actually count as “night.”
South Dakota’s Night Driving Definition
South Dakota uses fixed hours: 10 PM to 6 AM. Doesn’t matter what the sun is doing. If the clock says 10 PM, you’re in night territory.
This is actually easier to track than sunset-based definitions. You always know exactly when night starts and stops. No looking up sunset tables.
What This Means for Your 10 Night Hours
South Dakota wants 10 hours of driving during the night window defined above. Out of your total 50 required hours, that’s the part most families put off.
Night drives are stressful. Parents don’t love being in the passenger seat when visibility drops. Teens are less confident. So the night hours pile up at the end and you’re scrambling.
Don’t save night hours for the end. Work them in early. A short drive after dinner twice a week gets you there faster than you’d think.
Curfew vs. Night Hours
Don’t confuse night hours with curfew. South Dakota has a curfew for permit holders: no driving between 10 PM and 6 AM.
You can still log night hours before curfew starts. If night begins at sunset (say 6 PM) and curfew starts at 10 PM, you have that window to practice.
South Dakota Permit Requirements Quick Reference
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 50 |
| Day hours | 40 |
| Night hours | 10 |
| Night definition | 10 PM to 6 AM |
| Minimum permit age | 14 |
| Permit hold period | 9 months |
| Supervisor minimum age | 21 |
Tracking Night Hours in South Dakota
South Dakota’s fixed-hour definition makes tracking straightforward. But you still need to log every session, calculate durations, and keep running totals for day and night separately.
Moda handles all of that. Start a session, drive, stop. It knows South Dakota’s rules and categorizes your hours automatically.
For full South Dakota permit requirements, see our South Dakota permit hours guide.