Automatic renewal rules in South Dakota

Each point below comes from the text on South Dakota's official legislature or code site, read on the review date. The full text has definitions and exceptions, so open it before you rely on one point.

The key phrases, copied from the official text:

• “The telecommunications company shall give notice to the subscriber not less than thirty and not more than sixty days before the date of the required action.” (S.D. Codified Laws § 49-31-116)
• “If the company fails to give the notice required by this section, the automatic renewal provision may not be enforced against the subscriber” (S.D. Codified Laws § 49-31-116)
• “The notice shall inform the subscriber in clear, plain and conspicuous language what action the subscriber must take to avoid renewal” (S.D. Codified Laws § 49-31-116)

To find the cancellation route and mailing address of the business you are leaving, start with Phone, TV and internet, Verizon and AT&T.

1. 1

   Note how and when you agreed

   Find the email or contract that confirmed the subscription and note the next renewal date, so you know how much time you have.

2. 2

   Cancel through the protected channel

   The renewal notice must tell you in clear, plain and conspicuous language what action you must take to avoid renewal. Take that step before the date the notice gives. Save the confirmation screen or email.

3. 3

   Back it up with a letter

   S.D. Codified Laws § 49-31-116 covers only phone and telecommunications service contracts, so cite it only if your contract is one of them. Send a written notice that cites S.D. Codified Laws § 49-31-116, your account details and the end date you want. Our cancellation letter template has the layout.

4. 4

   If you are billed again

   Reply with your proof and the citation, ask for a refund, and if that fails, dispute the charge with your bank. See what to do when a company keeps charging you.

Outside phone and telecommunications service contracts, South Dakota law sets no special cancellation route, so your contract's terms apply. A letter sent with tracking adds what an online click often lacks: a dated, third-party record that you asked to cancel, which card issuers and state consumer offices can check.

Certified mail for cancellations explains what each delivery record proves.

The federal Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act requires online sellers using automatic renewals to provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. The FTC's 2024 click-to-cancel amendments are not in force: on July 8, 2025 the Eighth Circuit vacated them (Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, No. 24-3137), on February 12, 2026, in a rule effective that day, the FTC recodified its Negative Option Rule "as it existed before the effective date" of the 2024 amendments (91 FR 6507), and on March 13, 2026 it asked for public comment on "the need for amendments" (91 FR 12318). Our state-by-state overview and the FTC click-to-cancel guide have the details.