Sebastian Business Directory and Business Guide

The Sebastian business directory answers two questions: where to find marinas, boating services and restaurants around Sebastian, and how a business gets licensed to operate inside the City of Sebastian.

The two Digital Towns guides in this section, marinas and boating services and restaurants and dining, list individual operators; this hub covers the civic side, meaning the city tax receipt, the chamber and the publicly owned working waterfront. Businesses are named here only in their civic role and only where an operator website or an official page confirmed them on October 14, 2026.

A business in Sebastian deals with three offices in a predictable order: the Florida Division of Corporations for its name, the City of Sebastian for its local business tax receipt, and, for members, the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce for a listing in its member directory.

Every business operating inside Sebastian city limits must hold a City of Sebastian Local Business Tax Receipt, renewed each year by September 30 (City of Sebastian).

The city sells and renews receipts starting July 1, and each one expires on September 30 of the following year. A receipt not renewed by September 30 is delinquent and picks up a 10 percent penalty for October plus 5 percent for each later month, with the total penalty capped at 25 percent of the tax. Opening late in the tax year is cheaper: from April 1 through September 30 the city charges a new business one-half of the regular annual amount. Fees are set by City Council and tied to a business classification in Municode section 30-51, and commercial application packets are available from the Building Department at Sebastian City Hall, 1225 Main Street (City of Sebastian).

The county does not issue this receipt for Sebastian addresses. The Indian River County Tax Collector collects local business tax only from businesses in the unincorporated county and sends businesses inside cities to their city; it lists the City of Sebastian contact as (772) 589-5330 (Indian River County Tax Collector). The same page notes that a current fictitious name registration from the Florida Department of State is required before a receipt is issued.

A timing tip that follows from the city's own rules: because the tax year turns over on October 1, a Sebastian business that opens in the spring pays the half-year rate and then renews in July, while one that misses the September 30 deadline is already paying the 10 percent October penalty. As of October 14, 2026, renewals for the year that began October 1 are already past due.

A home-based business in Sebastian needs a city review before the receipt is issued, with a $50 application fee on top of the business tax itself (City of Sebastian).

The City of Sebastian Building Department asks for a floor plan of the home marking where the business will be conducted, even if only a telephone is used there, a recent photograph of the front of the home including the yard and driveway, a letter of intent describing the business, and a copy of the fictitious or corporation name registration. The business may not take up more than 20 percent of the living area. The application fee is paid in cash, check or money order (City of Sebastian).

Review usually takes about 3 weeks, and the receipt is issued after the tax fee is paid. The city lists the Building Department status line as 388-8211, printed without an area code. Name registrations come from the Florida Division of Corporations at Sunbiz, which also takes calls at 850-488-9000.

One flag for anyone reading the city page closely: its home-based business heading cites Land Development Code section 54 followed by the date February 7, 2021 instead of a full section number, so the current code section should be confirmed with the Building Department at Sebastian City Hall before relying on it.

The Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce is at 700 Main Street in Sebastian, and its Pelican Porch visitor center is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce).

The visitor center sits on the southeast corner of Main Street and US 1, along the Indian River Lagoon, and the phone is 772.589.5969. It is a designated visitor center on the Indian River Lagoon National Scenic Byway and a VISIT FLORIDA Certified Tourism Information Center. The chamber publishes a member directory and a business directory and community guide, and its site lists 2026-2027 board of directors nominees (Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce).

The chamber is the closest thing Sebastian has to a published business list, but it covers members only, so a business that is not a member will not appear there. The chamber at 700 Main Street and Sebastian City Hall at 1225 Main Street are on the same street, which makes Main Street the practical first stop for anyone opening a business in town.

Boaters around Sebastian use the private Sebastian Inlet Marina on US 1 in Micco and the two marinas inside Sebastian Inlet State Park; the Sebastian marinas and boating services guide lists them in detail.

Sebastian Inlet Marina, a Suntex marina at 8685 US-1 in Micco, offers wet slips with access to Sebastian Inlet, the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic, dry storage, a ship store and the Chubby Mullet Bar and Grill; its phone is (772) 664-8500 (Sebastian Inlet Marina). Micco is outside Sebastian city limits, so the City of Sebastian business tax receipt does not cover a business there.

Inside Sebastian Inlet State Park, the Bayside Marina is the start and finish of the park's three bike trails, primitive campsites sit at the Campbell Pocket Marina, and canoe and kayak rentals come from Sunshine Paddle Tours, 407-842-0675 (Florida State Parks). The park's boat ramp costs $4 plus tax on top of park entry (Florida State Parks).

The Stan Mayfield Working Waterfront is a two-acre property on the Indian River Lagoon in Sebastian, run as a public and private partnership between the city and Fisherman's Landing Sebastian, a nonprofit working waterfront organization (City of Sebastian).

City staff began talking in early 2009 about reviving a working waterfront along the lagoon as part of Sebastian's fishing village heritage. The idea was to tie several parcels together to teach the public about commercial fishing through a retail and wholesale seafood house, exhibits and events. Sebastian applied to the Stan Mayfield Working Waterfronts Florida Forever grant program, created in 2008 and run by Florida Communities Trust, which receives 2.5 percent of the Florida Forever appropriation each year (City of Sebastian).

The city partnered with Fisherman's Landing Sebastian to restore and run the facilities, starting with restoring and leasing the Hurricane Harbor building. The group presented its plans to Sebastian City Council on June 23, 2021, and the city's page still offers that 2021 presentation as its most recent dated item, so current tenants and hours should be confirmed directly. The Sebastian restaurants and dining guide covers the eateries along Indian River Drive near the working waterfront.