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Free foreclosure help in South Dakota

For free foreclosure help in South Dakota, start with a HUD-approved counselor from South Dakota Housing's HERO network for work with your servicer, and apply through SD Law Help for free legal advice. Which you call first depends on whether you have a sale notice or court papers. South Dakota's federal homeowner assistance money is no longer available.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against South Dakota law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ask for help in South Dakota

Free. A person replies with the options and official help that fit. Messages about a scheduled sale are answered first.

For example: a sale date, what your servicer has told you, or what changed in your income. Please do not include your loan number, Social Security number or bank details.

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Who to call first, by situation

  • You are current but expect to miss a payment

    Before the first missed payment

    Call your servicer and ask what options it offers. South Dakota Housing lists HERO network counselors who handle mortgage default, including Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Black Hills (1-800-568-6615) and Lutheran Social Services' Center for Financial Resources (1-888-258-2227).

  • You are behind but have no notice yet

    This week

    Apply to your servicer for a workout and ask a HERO counselor to help, such as NeighborWorks Dakota Home Resources at 605-578-1401. South Dakota Housing advises acting quickly because time affects success.

  • You got a notice of foreclosure sale or a summons

    Right away; 30 days to answer a summons

    Apply online through SD Law Help, which sends you to the right program; it usually replies in 2 to 5 business days. With an urgent deadline, call East River Legal Services at 1-800-952-3015 in eastern counties or Dakota Plains Legal Services at 605-856-4444. South Dakota Unified Judicial System: Self Help has forms for representing yourself.

    SDCL 15-6-12(a)

  • A sheriff's sale date is set

    The day you learn of it

    Call legal aid or a licensed attorney about requiring foreclosure by action, a bankruptcy, or redemption. If you can pay a lawyer, use State Bar of South Dakota: Lawyer Referral. Call the county sheriff's office to confirm the date.

    SDCL 21-48-9

  • Your servicer is not following the rules

    As soon as it happens

    File with South Dakota Division of Banking: Consumer Complaints, which regulates mortgage lenders and servicers, and with South Dakota Attorney General: Consumer Complaint Form. A complaint does not pause the foreclosure or your court deadlines.

  • Someone offered to save your home for a fee

    Before you sign or pay anything

    We found no South Dakota law just for these offers, but federal rules generally bar charging before you sign a deal with your lender. Report it through South Dakota Attorney General: Consumer Complaint Form, and have legal aid read any deed or contract first.

    12 C.F.R. § 1015.5(a)

Official and nonprofit help in South Dakota

None of these charge homeowners for foreclosure help.

SD Cares Homeowner Assistance Program (Homeowner Assistance Fund)

We could not find a current page for South Dakota's Homeowner Assistance Fund program. The program's web address now leads to a page-not-found notice on the South Dakota Housing site, which suggests it has ended, but we found no official closing statement. Call South Dakota Housing to ask what help is available now.

Check the program’s current status

Common questions in South Dakota

Is SD Cares still helping South Dakota homeowners?

We found no current page for South Dakota's Homeowner Assistance Fund program, and the U.S. Treasury says all Homeowner Assistance Fund money ended September 30, 2026. Call South Dakota Housing to ask what other help exists, and work with your servicer on its own options.

How do I get free legal help with a South Dakota foreclosure?

Apply online at SD Law Help, the joint site of the state's three legal aid programs. East River Legal Services serves eastern counties including Minnehaha, Brown and Brookings at 1-800-952-3015, and Dakota Plains Legal Services serves western and central South Dakota and tribal nations. Both serve people who meet income rules.

Where can I find a HUD-approved housing counselor in South Dakota?

South Dakota Housing publishes its HERO network of HUD-approved counseling agencies. Those listing mortgage default counseling are Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Black Hills, 605-348-4550 ext. 144, Lutheran Social Services' Center for Financial Resources, 605-330-2700, and NeighborWorks Dakota Home Resources, 605-578-1401.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in South Dakota

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Back to the South Dakota overview

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Sources for this page

  1. SDCL 15-6-12(a), Time for presenting defenses and objections
  2. SDCL Chapter 15-19, Execution sales (notice, return, confirmation, postponement)
  3. SDCL Chapter 21-16, Forcible Entry and Detainer
  4. SDCL Chapter 54-13, Agricultural Mediation
  5. South Dakota Housing, Homebuyer counseling (HERO network of HUD-approved counseling agencies)
  6. SD Law Help
  7. East River Legal Services
  8. Dakota Plains Legal Services
  9. SDCL Chapter 21-47, Actions to Foreclose Real Property Mortgages
  10. SDCL Chapter 21-48, Foreclosure of Real Property Mortgage by Advertisement
  11. SDCL Chapter 21-49, Short-Term Redemption Mortgages
  12. SDCL Chapter 21-52, Redemption from Sale on Execution or Foreclosure
  13. South Dakota Housing