Short-Term Rental Laws in Custer, South Dakota

Custer — the gateway to Custer State Park (largest state park in SD; bison + Black Elk Peak + Needles Highway) + Crazy Horse Memorial + Wind Cave National Park — permits STRs broadly across residential and commercial zones with business license + lodging tax registration + life-safety standards. No primary-residence requirement, no nights cap, no zoning-class ban. The town's economy is essentially 100% tourism-driven and ordinances reflect that posture. Peak season May-September with concentrated demand around the Sturgis Rally (August), Buffalo Roundup (late September), and Mount Rushmore-corridor traffic.

Zoning: STRs permitted in all residential and commercial zones with registration. The Custer downtown historic district (Mt. Rushmore Road corridor) has design-review overlay for exterior modifications on properties within the historic blocks. Custer State Park-adjacent properties (Game Lodge area, lakeshore properties on Sylvan Lake/Stockade Lake/Center Lake) fall under SD Department of Game, Fish and Parks coordination for shoreline modifications but STR use itself is broadly permitted.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Custer City Hall + Custer County jointly administer. Annual business license + STR registration. Application requires designated local 24/7 contact, proof of property insurance, life-safety self-certification, parking plan. Custer Finance collects Lodging Tax + city sales tax monthly. Operating unregistered: administrative penalty + back-tax assessment. Small-town administrative infrastructure — most processes route through the City Clerk's office directly. Enforcement primarily complaint-driven.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Custer is approximately 12.500% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

South Dakota State sales tax 4.2% + South Dakota Tourism Tax 1.5% + Custer County + Custer city sales 2% + Custer Lodging Tax 1% + tourism assessment ~3% — combined ~12.5% on transient lodging; confirm at Custer City Hall

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.