South Dakota: Ownership and Oversight
FPA after 1,040 hours — the shortest hours-based on-ramp in the country. South Dakota grants full practice authority after just 1,040 hours of collaborative practice — half a full-time year, the shortest hours-denominated transition of any FPA state — paired with a conventional PA collaboration framework.
Who the Statute Actually Covers
- The 1,040-hour on-ramp (SDCL ch. 36-9A, as amended 2017): a CNP practices within a collaborative agreement with a physician for the first 1,040 hours of practice; on completion, full independent practice and prescribing (including controlled substances with DEA registration) under Board of Nursing authority, with no ongoing agreement, ratio, or review.
- During the transition: the collaborative agreement addresses consultation, referral, and prescribing scope; mechanics are agreement-defined rather than statute-heavy; document hours from day one because the exit is hour-triggered, not time-triggered.
- PA framework (SDCL ch. 36-4A): PAs practice pursuant to collaboration with physicians with practice-level scope determination; verify current agreement content and any concurrent-PA limits in Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners rules when drafting.
1. Who Can Own What
| Entity / Path | Who May Own | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Professional entities | Licensee-owned professional corporations under SDCL ch. 47-11 series when those forms are used. | Verify combinations with South Dakota counsel. |
| NP-owned practice | Fully viable; a founder clears the on-ramp in six months of full-time practice, and an employed period before launch satisfies it just as well. | — |
| PA path | Collaboration framework; no ownership prohibition in the practice act. | — |
| Lay / MSO | Standard structuring; licensing-law policing. | — |
2. Collaborative and Supervisory Oversight
| Role | Agreement Required | Oversight Mechanics | Path to Independence |
|---|---|---|---|
| PA | Collaboration with physicians per SDCL ch. 36-4A; practice-level mechanics. | Verify current agreement requirements and limits with the Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners. | None formalized. |
| NP | First 1,040 hours: collaborative agreement with a physician covering consultation, referral, and prescribing. | No ratios or chart percentages in the FPA framework; hour documentation is the compliance record. | Yes — 1,040 hours ends the agreement (SDCL ch. 36-9A); the fastest hours-based exit in the country. |
3. Primary Authorities
- SDCL ch. 36-9A (CNP practice; 1,040-hour collaborative transition; 2017 FPA amendments).
- SDCL ch. 36-4A (physician assistants); Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners rules.
- SDCL ch. 47-11 series (professional corporations).
Practical read: South Dakota's on-ramp is so short it changes strategy — a new NP can clear it inside a first employed job and arrive at an ownership launch already independent, so the right advice is usually "work six months, then build," not "find a collaborator for your startup." The only failure mode is not documenting the hours, because the Board wants the count, and 1,040 arrives faster than people's record-keeping habits do.
General education, not legal advice. Verify current statutes, board rules, and opinions before relying on this summary.