RESPIRATORY THERAPIST

2026 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

During the 2026 legislative session, House Bill 1148, An Act to authorize the state’s participation in the interstate compact on physician assistant licensure, moved through the legislative process and will become law July 1, 2026. 

A requirement of participating in this compact is the submission of fingerprints for considering the criminal history records of applicants.

What does this mean for you?

This bill now requires all new respiratory therapists wishing to pursue initial licensure in South Dakota to undergo fingerprinting procedures before obtaining a license. Fingerprint packets and instructions will be provided by the BMOE office and sent to the applicants.

No action is needed from currently licensed respiratory therapists.

You can find information on the RT licensure compact in their website: Respiratory Care Interstate Compact.

Licensure

Please note that an application fee only extends an initial license to the next renewal date. Initial licenses do vary in duration. It is the responsibility of all licensees to renew their license before expiration. Failure to renew shall result in automatic forfeiture or suspension of the license by statute. Licenses which have forfeited are not automatically entitled to renew. (emphasis supplied).

As a medical professional licensed by this Board, renewal of your South Dakota license is entirely your responsibility. Failure to receive the notice for renewal of license does not relieve the licensee of the responsibility for renewing the license and paying the renewal fee within the prescribed time.

How do I start the application process for licensure?

The applicant should create or login to their MySD Account. All applications types can be found through this account. Tutorials on how to create a MySD Account and starting an application can be found here: https://www.sdbmoe.gov/sdbmoe-training-tutorials/. If you need further assistance or have additional questions please email [email protected].

CEU Requirements

As a condition of license renewal, respiratory care practitioners must complete at least 20 credit hours of continuing education biennially from a program sponsored by the American Association for Respiratory Care or an inservice program conducted by a hospital or related institution licensed pursuant to SDCL chapter 34-12. The program must be related to the practice of respiratory care and designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of the practitioner.