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A Month of Free Tuition per Month Served — After Your Federal Benefits, Not Instead of Them

A resident wartime veteran with an honorable discharge earns one month of free tuition at the state universities and technical colleges for each month of qualifying service — floor of one academic year, ceiling of four. Being GI Bill-eligible does not exclude you. SDCL 13-55-2 requires only that federal tuition benefits be applied first: the state benefit begins where the federal ones stop.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

A resident wartime veteran with an honorable discharge earns one month of free tuition at the state universities and technical colleges for each month of qualifying service — floor of one academic year, ceiling of four. Being GI Bill-eligible does not exclude you. SDCL 13-55-2 requires only that federal tuition benefits be applied first: the state benefit begins where the federal ones stop.

What it's worth: One month of undergraduate tuition free per month of qualifying service — minimum one academic year, maximum four

  • The entitlement is against tuition at state-supported universities and technical colleges toward an undergraduate degree.
  • SDCL 13-55-2 states that no tuition benefit may be provided by the state until the applicant has applied all federal tuition benefits. That is an ordering rule, not an eligibility bar — exhausting the GI Bill is the route in, not a disqualification.
  • Eligibility keys to the veteran definition at SDCL 33A-2-1 and 33A-2-2, together with the recognised active war service organisations.
  • A person who qualifies as a veteran under SDCL 33A-2-2 solely on the basis of a service-connected disability qualifies only with a VA rating of 10 percent or greater.
  • Where you lived when you entered service does not affect eligibility.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your discharge was under honorable conditions.
  • You are a resident of this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Check the disqualifier FIRST: the statute reserves this for veterans NOT eligible for the GI Bill or any other federal education programme. A veteran with live federal months does not qualify — the programme exists for those the federal system cannot help.
  2. 2Count the entitlement month for month against qualifying wartime service, with a minimum of one academic year and a maximum of four.
  3. 3Pick up the application at the school and route it with the DD-214 to the state department in Pierre.
Form
Free tuition application with DD-214
File with
The school financial aid or veterans office, forwarded to the state DVA in Pierre
Documents you will need
dd214
Annual
Claimed once a year.
CorrectionThis record used to say the benefit was for veterans NOT eligible for the GI Bill or any other federal education programme, and said so in its title. SDCL 13-55-2 requires federal tuition benefits to be APPLIED first, which is a sequencing rule. A GI Bill-eligible veteran qualifies; they simply use the federal entitlement before the state one.

Sources

Why only one source type: The department's own page states the month-for-month formula, the floor and ceiling, and the federal-ineligibility condition.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.