South Dakota Women's Prison

The state's only prison for women, in Pierre; holds women across all custody levels and serves as the women's reception and intake point for the South Dakota DOC.

Overview

The South Dakota Women’s Prison (SDWP) is a state prison for women in Pierre, Hughes County. It is operated by the South Dakota Department of Corrections (SD DOC). It is the only women’s prison in the state system, and it holds women across all custody levels. Because there is no separate women’s reception center, it is also the point where women entering SD DOC custody are received, processed, and classified.

Because custody assignments and housing change, the prison listed on the SD DOC Offender Locator may differ from where a person was previously held; the locator searches by DOC number and name.

What Makes the South Dakota Women’s Prison Different

• It is South Dakota’s only prison for women. Women across all custody levels are held at this one facility, and it serves as the women’s reception and intake point for the system, since the state does not run a separate women’s reception center.
• It opened in 1997 and is located within the Herm Solem Public Safety Center in Pierre, a complex that also houses the SD DOC’s central administrative offices.
• It runs programs specific to its population, including a mother-infant program and on-site OB/GYN care for pregnant women.

Visiting

The statewide SD DOC rules above — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at the South Dakota Women’s Prison. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There and Parking

The South Dakota Women’s Prison is at 3200 East Highway 34 in Pierre, the state capital, in central South Dakota. Pierre is roughly three and a half hours west of Sioux Falls by way of Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 83. Confirm visiting arrangements and the person’s custody and visitation status before making the trip. Visitor parking is on site.

Nearby Services

Pierre and the adjoining city of Fort Pierre have lodging, fuel, and restaurants. Hospital emergency services are available in Pierre.

Mail

South Dakota DOC scans incoming personal mail and delivers it to the incarcerated person’s prison tablet rather than handing over the original paper — a policy adopted to keep drug-soaked paper out of the prisons. The scanning is done in-house at the facility; letters are still addressed to the prison itself, and South Dakota does not use an out-of-state mail vendor.

Address personal mail to the person at the facility, with their full name and DOC number:

Full name and DOC number South Dakota Women’s Prison 3200 East Highway 34, c/o 500 East Capitol Avenue Pierre, SD 57501-5070

Every envelope must show the person’s full name and DOC number and a complete return address, or it can be rejected. Cards must be plain (no stickers, glitter, musical or electronic, multi-layered, or homemade cards); photos must be 4x6 and not Polaroid. Books and magazines must be new and shipped directly from a publisher, distributor, or retailer; used books from third-party marketplaces are generally not accepted. Legal mail goes directly to the facility and is opened and inspected for contraband in the person’s presence rather than scanned.

Confirm the current mail policy and address with the South Dakota DOC before sending anything, as mail and tablet rules change.

Learn More

• Visiting in South Dakota — getting on the approved visitor list, scheduling, and what to expect at the prison.
• Mail in South Dakota — how scanned mail works, what you can send, and the correct address.
• Phone & Video in South Dakota — setting up ViaPath calls and scheduling video visits.
• Sending Money in South Dakota — how to add money to phone and trust accounts.
• Medical Care in South Dakota — how health care works and what care costs.
• Intake & Transfers in South Dakota — where people enter the system and how they move between facilities.