Clerk of the Circuit Court — Indian River County, Florida

The Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller works from three buildings: the Indian River County Courthouse at 2000 16th Avenue in Vero Beach, the County Administration Building at 1801 27th Street, and the North County Annex at 1921 U.S. Highway 1 in Sebastian.

The courthouse is the main counter. Its cashiers, recording, civil and family, and juvenile, felony, traffic and misdemeanor divisions are each open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and the switchboard is (772) 226-3100 (Clerk contact page). Mail for the courthouse goes to P.O. Box 1028, Vero Beach, FL 32961-1028, according to the same page.

Two county-government functions sit away from the courthouse, inside the County Administration Building on 27th Street in Vero Beach. The Clerk to the Board is in Building A, Room 801, at (772) 226-1916, and the Comptroller's Office is on the second floor of Building A at (772) 226-1516 (Clerk contact page).

North county residents in Sebastian, Roseland and Fellsmere have a closer option. The North County Annex, which the Clerk calls the Sebastian Office, is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 am to 5 pm at (772) 226-1147 (Clerk contact page). The Clerk's contact page lists no Tuesday or Thursday hours for it.

Recording, court filings, jury service and records research run through the Vero Beach courthouse, while the Sebastian Office on U.S. 1 also issues marriage licenses, accepts passport applications and hosts a Self-Help Center kiosk.

Marriage licenses are sold in the Recording Department, Room 119 of the courthouse, Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., or at the Sebastian office on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, where the counter is closed from 12:00 to 1:00 (Clerk marriage license page). No appointment is needed at either counter.

Passport applications are accepted by the Clerk for the U.S. Department of State at both the courthouse and the Sebastian office (Clerk passports page). Appointments are available but not required. The Clerk mails first-time applications to the State Department, while renewals must be mailed by the applicant; the Clerk's passport line is 772-226-3104.

Copies and certified copies come from the Records Service Center at the courthouse, which handles Official Records such as deeds, mortgages, judgments, liens and marriage licenses, plus court records, plats and County Commission records (Clerk copies and records page). Jury service is also a courthouse matter: parking is available in the garage directly in front of the courthouse at 2000 16th Avenue, and there is no charge for it (Clerk jury duty page).

The Indian River County Clerk charges $10.00 to record the first page of a standard document and $8.50 for each page after it, with a 3.5% fee on credit and debit card payments.

The Indian River County Clerk publishes one fee schedule for its services (Clerk fee schedule). An eCertified copy of an instrument in the official records costs $9.00 for the first page plus $1.00 for each additional page at the walk-in counter, or $9.00 per copy when ordered online. A plain copy of a public record no larger than 14 by 8.5 inches is $1.00 per page.

Recording charges at the Indian River County Clerk rest on state law. Section 28.24 of the Florida Statutes sets the base charge for recording an instrument up to 14 by 8.5 inches at $5.00 for the first page and $4.00 for each additional page, and then adds further service charges, including one deposited in the Public Records Modernization Trust Fund (s. 28.24, Florida Statutes).

Court filing fees at the Vero Beach courthouse vary by case type. A petition for dissolution of marriage costs $408.00 at the Family Services Division in the courthouse, and small claims filings start at $55.00 for a claim of $0 to $100 (Clerk fee schedule). Passport application fees of $130.00 for applicants 16 and older and $100.00 for those 15 and younger are paid to the U.S. Department of State, with a separate $35.00 Clerk fee per application.

Ryan Butler is the Indian River County Clerk of the Courts and Comptroller; he took office on July 1, 2023, after appointment by Governor Ron DeSantis, and was then elected to a four year term that began in 2025.

Butler is the county's eighth Clerk of the Courts and Comptroller and succeeded Jeffrey R. Smith, who retired after eleven years as Clerk, according to the Clerk home page. The same page says Butler has worked in the Indian River County Courthouse since 1995 and earlier served as the office's Chief Deputy Clerk.

The office combines four jobs. As Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, it is custodian of the Board's records; as County Recorder, it maintains the Official Records; as County Comptroller, it acts as the county's treasurer, auditor and finance officer; and as Clerk of the Circuit Court, it maintains court records (Clerk home page). The Comptroller and Board staff work from the County Administration Building at 1801 27th Street, not the courthouse on 16th Avenue.

Two county revenue duties also run through the Clerk. Tourist Development Tax on rentals of six months or less is 5% of total taxable rental receipts, and owners or agents in Vero Beach, Sebastian, Indian River Shores and the rest of the county remit it to the Clerk on or before the 20th of the month after collection (Clerk Tourist Development Tax page). Owners or agents may keep a collection allowance of 2.5% of the tax, with a maximum allowance of $30.

The Access to Justice Self-Help Center at the Vero Beach courthouse, named for former Clerk Jeffrey Smith, assists with family law, small claims and residential eviction matters, and it is reached at 772-226-3162.

Staff at the center inside the Indian River County Courthouse on 16th Avenue work Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 4:30 and close from 1:00 to 2:00 (Clerk Self-Help Center page). The center schedules cost-effective attorney consultations, explains court process, sells and helps fill out forms, and prepares filings for submission; the Clerk's page states that staff and attorneys there do not act as anyone's lawyer.

Legal kiosks at remote locations extend the center beyond the courthouse. The Sebastian Office at 1921 U.S. 1 lists a kiosk Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 5:00, with paralegal assistance on Fridays, and Fellsmere City Hall at 22 S. Orange St. is listed as a remote location (Clerk Self-Help Center page). In Vero Beach, the Up Center at 1400 27th Street hosts a kiosk on Thursdays from 9:00 to 5:00. The Sebastian kiosk listing covers five weekdays while the Clerk's contact page lists the Sebastian Office as open only Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so a Tuesday or Thursday visit is worth confirming by phone first.

Many Indian River County court and official records can be searched online with free uncertified printouts, and property value appeals go to a Value Adjustment Board whose petitions are filed through the Clerk.

For an in-person or mail request at the Records Service Center on 16th Avenue in Vero Beach, the Clerk asks for the CFN (Clerk File Number) or book and page for an official record, and the complete case number plus docket entry numbers for court papers (Clerk copies and records page). In-person payment can be cash, check, money order or card; mail orders take only check or money order.

The Value Adjustment Board hears appeals from owners in Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fellsmere and the unincorporated county who dispute a property value or the denial of an exemption, classification or tax deferral under Chapter 194 of the Florida Statutes (Clerk Value Adjustment Board page). It has five members: two County Commissioners, one School Board member, one member appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and one appointed by the School Board. Special magistrates, who are independent appraisers and attorneys, hear the petitions and recommend decisions, and the VAB makes all final decisions.

Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Indian River Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller website.