Mason in South Dakota: licence, certification and what employers require (2026)

South Dakota does not license masons: no state licence for masons or concrete finishers as employees. This page says what a mason licensed or working in another state has to do to work in South Dakota, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

No state licenses masons, bricklayers or concrete finishers as employees, so there is nothing to transfer to South Dakota. A masonry contractor licence applies in some states if you work for yourself. Certifications that travel: ACI concrete flatwork finisher, and OSHA cards.

What to have ready before you move

• ACI or NCMA certificates if you hold them
• OSHA 10 card

Start the paperwork before you give notice. There is no South Dakota licence to wait for, so the only clock is the employer's.

What people get wrong

• Underestimating the season in northern states; masonry slows in winter

Who hires masons in South Dakota

Masons in South Dakota are hired by masonry contractors, concrete contractors, general contractors and union locals. The metros with the most of that work are Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Aberdeen. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the South Dakota openings page.

For the money side: the median mason in South Dakota earned $45,150 a year ($22 an hour) in May 2024 across 2,270 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and South Dakota has no state income tax on wages. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about South Dakota, on one page

The South Dakota page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of South Dakota employers hiring from out of state.