Indian River County, Florida Practical Guides

Twenty-five Indian River County practical guides sit under this hub, each built around one errand that a county, court or state office handles for residents of Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fellsmere and the rest of the county.

For licenses and vehicles: the driver licenses and ID cards guide, the vehicle titles and registration guide and the concealed weapon license guide. For the courthouse: the jury duty guide, the small claims court guide, the evictions and landlord tenant court guide, the divorce and family court guide, the probate and guardianship guide, the name changes guide, the traffic tickets and citations guide and the serving court papers guide. For records and life events: the birth and death certificates guide, the marriage licenses and courthouse weddings guide, the official records and deeds guide and the passport applications guide. For voting: the voter registration guide, the vote by mail guide and the where to vote guide. For help and services: the human services assistance guide, the affordable housing programs guide, the veterans services guide, the public library system guide and the UF/IFAS Extension and 4-H guide. From the Sheriff: the fingerprinting guide and the jail and inmate information guide.

The sections below give the address, hours and fee for each of those offices, with the source beside each fact, and name the guide that goes further.

Driver licenses and motor vehicle services in Indian River County are handled by the Tax Collector, which requires an appointment for every in-person service except paying property taxes.

Appointments are booked online, and computer and road test appointments are currently available only to Indian River County residents (Tax Collector, appointments). The office runs four locations: the Main Office in the County Administration Complex at 1800 27th Street, Building B, Vero Beach; the West Office at 1860 82nd Avenue, Suite 102; the Oceanside Office at 3003 Cardinal Drive, Suite C; and the Sebastian Office at Sebastian Corners, 1921 U.S. Highway 1 (Tax Collector locations).

The Main Office lists motorist services, driver licenses, local business tax, hunting and fishing licenses, concealed weapons applications and birth certificates among its services. The driver licenses and ID cards guide and the vehicle titles and registration guide list documents and fees; the concealed weapon license guide covers the license application process.

The Indian River County Clerk of the Circuit Court issues marriage licenses for $86 and accepts passport applications at the courthouse at 2000 16th Avenue in Vero Beach or its Sebastian office, and handles small claims cases up to $8000.

A marriage license takes effect three days after purchase for Florida residents and then stays valid for 57 days, or 60 days for out-of-state couples or those who took the course; the fee drops to $61 and the waiting period is waived for couples who complete a marriage preparation course, and couples who both live out of state have no wait (Clerk, marriage licenses). Applicants go to the Recording department, room 119, or the Sebastian office.

Passports for U.S. citizens are accepted at the courthouse and at the Sebastian office at 1921 U.S. 1. Appointments are available but not required, first-time applications are mailed by the Clerk, and renewals are mailed by the applicant; questions go to 772-226-3104 (Clerk, passports). Small claims covers cases up to $8000, and filing packages are available from the Civil Department, Room 158 of the courthouse, or online; the Clerk's Sebastian office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Clerk, small claims).

For the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the marriage licenses and courthouse weddings guide, the passport applications guide and the small claims court guide go step by step, and the jury duty, evictions, divorce and family court, probate and guardianship, name changes, traffic tickets, serving court papers and official records and deeds guides cover the Clerk's other counters.

Birth certificates in Indian River County come from the Florida Department of Health Vital Statistics office at 1900 27th Street, Vero Beach, for $12 for the first copy and $10 for each additional one.

The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and answers at 772-794-7460; requests can be made in person or by mail, and an applicant brings valid photo identification and completes an application with the person's full name, date of birth, county of birth, the mother's full name including maiden name and the father's full name; orders can also be placed online through VitalChek (Florida Department of Health in Indian River County). Florida birth certificates before 1930 must be requested from the Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics in Jacksonville.

The Tax Collector Main Office at 1800 27th Street also lists birth certificates among its services (Tax Collector locations). Death certificates, eligibility rules and the Tax Collector's own certificate service are covered in the birth and death certificates guide.

For the November 3, 2026 General Election, Indian River County mail ballot requests close at 5:00 p.m. on October 22, and early voting runs October 19 to 31 at four sites, one of them Sebastian City Hall.

The Supervisor of Elections lists September 24, 2026 as the initial mail date for this election (Supervisor of Elections, vote by mail). Any registered voter can vote by mail. A mail ballot cannot be forwarded by the Postal Service, and a ballot returned as undeliverable cancels the voter's future requests. Vote-by-mail requests expire after the 2026 General Election cycle, and a voter who wants to keep voting by mail has to renew the request.

On Election Day each voter must use the assigned polling place, and the elections office answers polling place questions at 772-226-4705 (Supervisor of Elections, upcoming elections). The voter registration guide, the vote by mail guide and the where to vote guide carry the forms and precinct lookups.

Fingerprinting at the Indian River County Sheriff's Office is a two-hour afternoon window, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, and costs a $25 Sheriff fee on top of whatever state fee the purpose carries.

Showing up by 2:45 p.m. is the Sheriff's request, since printing stops at 3, and the Sheriff offers both Livescan electronic fingerprints and ink rolled fingerprints (Indian River County Sheriff, fingerprinting). Card payments carry a 3.95 percent convenience fee with a $2.50 minimum. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement fee is separate, depends on the type of transmission and must be paid to FDLE within 30 days. The Sheriff does not print for a Concealed Weapon License; that application service is at the Tax Collector's Main Office.

A real estate transmission, for example, carries the $25 Sheriff fee plus the $40.50 FDLE fee. The fingerprinting guide also covers other print locations, and the jail and inmate information guide covers the county jail on 41st Avenue, its video visits and its mail rules.

Indian River County runs Veterans Services offices in Vero Beach and Sebastian, by appointment, and its library branches issue a card to anyone who can show county residency.

State-certified Veterans Service Officers help veterans and families prepare, file and appeal claims for service-connected compensation, non-service-connected pensions, VA health care, education, home loans and burial benefits (Indian River County Veterans Services). The Vero Beach office is at 2525 St. Lucie Avenue (772-226-1395) and takes walk-ins for questions of 30 minutes or less on Wednesdays; the Sebastian office is at 1235 Main Street (772-226-1145), with the same walk-in window on Thursdays. Every other visit is by appointment, Monday through Friday.

Any Indian River County library branch issues a card on proof of county residency, such as a Florida driver license with a county address, a lease of at least six months, a county voter card or a current utility bill; cards stay valid for two years from the patron's birthdate (Indian River County Library System). Nonresidents pay $10 for three months, $20 for six months or $30 for a year. The veterans services guide, the public library system guide, the human services assistance guide, the affordable housing programs guide and the UF/IFAS Extension and 4-H guide cover the county's other help desks. Last verified: October 15, 2026, against the Indian River County, Clerk, Tax Collector, Department of Health, Supervisor of Elections and Sheriff websites.