Apprentice pay rules in South Dakota
What must a South Dakota employer pay an apprentice, and how does pay rise?
The floor every apprentice stands on
Every South Dakota apprentice is paid at least the state minimum wage, which is $11.85 per hour for non-tipped employees, effective January 1, 2026.
The floor moves by rule, not by vote. The wage adjusts each year with the cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, rounded up to the nearest 5 cents, and it may not decrease.
For tipped trades, the floor is lower with a catch. The tipped minimum wage is $5.925 per hour, effective January 1, 2026, and the employer must ensure the employee receives no less than the current minimum wage while keeping a record of all tips received.
$11.85 per hourSouth Dakota's minimum wage for non-tipped employees is $11.85 per hour, effective January 1, 2026. — South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-29
South Dakota's minimum wage adjusts annually with the Consumer Price Index, rounded up to the nearest 5 cents, and may not decrease. — South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-29
$5.925 per hourThe minimum wage for tipped employees in South Dakota is $5.925 per hour, effective January 1, 2026, and the employer must keep a record of all tips received. — South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-29
The rising scale a registered program must pay
A registered apprenticeship adds a staircase on top of the floor. Federal standards require a progressively increasing schedule of wages consistent with the skill acquired.
The state describes the same thing from the apprentice's side. The Department of Labor and Regulation lists, among what an apprentice in the Start Today SD program receives, regular pay increases as job skills increase.
Start Today SD's own build step makes the employer state the staircase before approval. Identifying your wage scale is part of building the program, not a decision that waits for the first review cycle.
That is why apprentice pay is cheap early and expensive late, by design. Year one sits near the floor while the apprentice learns the work process schedule, and the scale rises as the record of hours and skills accumulates.
Federal standards for registered apprenticeship programs require a progressively increasing schedule of wages consistent with the skill acquired. — 29 CFR 29.5, Cornell LII, retrieved 2026-09-29
The South Dakota apprenticeship page lists regular pay increases as job skills increase among what a Start Today SD apprentice receives. — South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-29
In the build step of becoming a sponsor, the employer identifies the program's wage scale. — Start Today SD, retrieved 2026-09-29
Where state law singles apprentices out
South Dakota's wage chapter has a section for apprentices. The Department of Labor and Regulation's minimum wage page lists, among its statutory references, a separate provision for apprentices at SDCL 60-11-5, alongside a training wage provision at SDCL 60-11-4.1.
The department's page is the honest citation here. It names the sections and where they sit, and the full boundaries of both provisions are in the statutes themselves, so check the current text before relying on either one.
The main wage statute is cited alongside them. The department points to SDCL 60-11-3 and 60-11-3.1 for the minimum wage and its annual increase, the provisions the $11.85 figure stands on.
The safe staffing rule is simple. Pay the full state minimum unless the provision that authorizes less is one you have read and can show, and treat the registered program's rising scale as the promotion path on top of the floor.
South Dakota's minimum wage law lists a separate provision for apprentices at SDCL 60-11-5 and a training wage provision at SDCL 60-11-4.1. — South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-29
The South Dakota minimum wage and its annual increase are set by SDCL 60-11-3 and 60-11-3.1. — South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, retrieved 2026-09-29
What the trade's hour rules mean for pay
Pay tracks the hour ledger, and the trades count hours differently. Electrical hours are licensed hours at 2,000 to a year, and plumbing years require at least 1,900 hours each, so the wage scale's steps line up with documented progression, not with calendar anniversaries.
The license climb is the apprentice's own pay argument. An electrical apprentice reaches the journeyman exam after 8,000 licensed hours, and a plumbing apprentice reaches the plumber's license after four documented years, at which points the wage is set by the license, not the program.
Beauty trades run on a different clock entirely. Cosmetology and barbering hours are school hours, so training is tuition-priced rather than wage-priced, which the cosmetology page covers.
Keep the pay scale and the hour log in the same file. The hour-logging guide shows what each trade counts, and a raise tied to a documented milestone is a raise the record proves.
| Route | Who pays the training | How it rises |
|---|---|---|
| State apprentice license | The employer, as wages | With documented hours toward the exam |
| Registered program | The sponsor, as a wage scale | As skill is acquired, by the program's scale |
| Cosmetology school | The student, as tuition | Not applicable |
| Barber school | The student, as tuition | Not applicable |
2,000 hoursThe State Electrical Commission counts one year of experience as 2,000 hours under ARSD 20:44:16:06. — South Dakota Electrical Commission, ARSD 20:44:16:06, retrieved 2026-09-29
1,900 hours per yearA South Dakota plumber's license requires four years as an apprentice plumber with at least 1,900 hours per year. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29
1,500 hoursA South Dakota cosmetologist license requires 1,500 hours of cosmetology education, as shown by transcript from a South Dakota school. — South Dakota Cosmetology Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29
Pay paperwork that follows the apprentice
An apprentice on payroll is a new hire, with the reporting that follows. All South Dakota employers report newly hired employees to the New Hire Reporting Center, within 20 days of the first day of work.
Wage records then run with the hours. For tipped trades, the employer must keep a record of all tips received, and for any apprentice the hour log is what the pay raises are measured against.
If the apprentice is under 18, the hour rules tighten around the pay, because federal child labor rules cap hazardous work and condition the youth apprenticeship exception on supervision. The under-18 page carries that set, and the hiring guide covers the rest of the first-week paperwork.
All South Dakota employers are required to report newly hired or re-hired employees to the New Hire Reporting Center per state and federal law. — South Dakota New Hire Reporting Center, retrieved 2026-09-29
20 daysNewly hired employees must be reported to the New Hire Reporting Center within 20 days of the first day of work. — South Dakota New Hire Reporting Center, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Can I pay an apprentice less than minimum wage in South Dakota?
Treat $11.85 per hour as the floor. State law does list a provision for apprentices at SDCL 60-11-5 and a training wage at SDCL 60-11-4.1, but the boundaries of those provisions are in the statutes themselves, so read the current text before paying below the minimum.
How often must a registered apprentice's pay rise?
The standards require a progressively increasing schedule of wages consistent with the skill acquired, and the sponsor states the wage scale when building the program. The exact steps are the program's own, set before approval.
Does the tipped minimum apply to a salon apprentice?
There is no salon apprentice route in South Dakota, because cosmetology training happens in licensed schools, not on the job. The tipped wage applies to tipped employees, with the employer making up any shortfall to the full minimum.
When does apprentice pay stop being apprentice pay?
At the license. An electrical apprentice who passes the journeyman exam after 8,000 licensed hours, or a plumbing apprentice who earns the plumber's license after four documented years, is paid for the license held, not the training agreement.
Where do I find the wage floor next year?
The Department of Labor and Regulation's minimum wage page. The wage adjusts with the Consumer Price Index each January 1, rounded up to the nearest 5 cents, and it cannot decrease.