Sheriff's Office — Indian River County, Florida

The Indian River County Sheriff's Office runs road patrol across the county and dispatches law enforcement calls for the unincorporated areas, Indian River Shores and Fellsmere, plus fire and EMS calls countywide.

The agency is led by Sheriff Eric Flowers, an elected constitutional officer listed by the Supervisor of Elections at 4055 41st Avenue, Vero Beach. Under Florida Statutes 100.041, the sheriff is chosen by county voters at the general election in each year divisible by four, on the same cycle as the clerk, property appraiser and tax collector.

Road patrol is what the agency calls its backbone. The Sheriff's Law Enforcement Operations page says the Road Patrol Division is staffed with 100 deputies who cover Indian River County 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and that road patrol deputies respond to 250 calls for service per day on average. The same page describes the county as approximately 617 square miles with a population of 157,000 people which grows to well over 200,000 people during season.

Dispatch is where the county map gets specific. The Sheriff's 911 Communications Center handles approximately 283,000 calls for service a year. It dispatches law enforcement calls only in the unincorporated areas of Indian River County, the Town of Indian River Shores and the City of Fellsmere, while it sends Fire and EMS calls for the entire county, including Sebastian and Vero Beach.

Inside Sebastian the city keeps its own police department, yet some services still route to the county agency: the City of Sebastian FAQ says its officers do not open locked vehicles and will contact the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, which does perform that service.

The Sheriff's Office headquarters is at 4055 41st Avenue, Vero Beach, FL 32960, with a lobby open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Sheriff home page gives (772) 569-6700 as the non-emergency and main line and 772-978-6052 for customer service, and it lists administrative office closures for Columbus Day on October 12, 2026 and Veteran's Day on November 11, 2026. The agency calls itself a nationally accredited agency, and its dispatch center holds accreditation through CALEA, according to the operations page.

Most counter services happen at the 41st Avenue complex in Vero Beach, where fingerprints are taken and certified background copies are picked up in person, whether the requester lives in Fellsmere, Sebastian or on the barrier island. Civil process is the exception: the Writs and Levies page directs concerns to the Sheriff's Civil Process Unit at the courthouse, 772-226-3190.

Records requests go to the Sheriff's Custodian of Public Records at 4055 41st Avenue, and name-based Indian River County background checks cost $20.00 through Central Records.

The Sheriff's Public Records page lists the custodian at 772-978-6215 and an online request portal, and notes that only the last ten (10) days of public records are made available for download as PDF affidavits and case reports. Records invoices can be paid in person by cash, check or money order, or online by card, with a convenience fee of 3.95% and a $2.50 minimum on each card transaction.

Background checks are limited in scope. The Background Checks page calls the Sheriff's product a name based background check for Indian River County ONLY and points anyone who needs a statewide search to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The request form can be mailed to 4055 41st Ave, emailed, or faxed to (772) 569-8344. A standard background costs $20.00, a certified background also costs $20.00, and certified copies must be picked up in person.

Some reports can be filed without a visit. The online reporting page lets residents report non-violent, fraudulent incidents online and offers a downloadable Worthless Check Packet, alongside links to IRS, FTC and credit bureau fraud contacts. Owners leaving town can also sign up for House Watch, which asks deputies to patrol a property while the owner is away, according to the Sheriff home page.

The Indian River County Sheriff's Office takes fingerprints Tuesday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for a $25.00 administrative fee, with state processing fees paid separately to FDLE.

The Sheriff's fingerprinting page offers Livescan electronic fingerprints and ink rolled fingerprints and asks applicants to arrive before 2:45 p.m. so everyone can be printed by 3 p.m. The $25.00 fee is collected before printing and can be paid by cash, check, money order or card. After the prints go electronically to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the applicant must pay FDLE within thirty (30) days through its online payment system or the transaction number expires and a new one has to be issued.

Concealed weapon license applicants are sent elsewhere. The Sheriff's fingerprinting page says that application service is handled by appointment at the Indian River County Tax Collector's Main Office. Questions about a missing FDLE record or an unexpected card charge go to Central Records at (772) 978-6219.

The Sheriff charges $40.00 to serve each summons, subpoena, order or writ in Indian River County, plus $50 for enforceable writs such as writs of possession, and every fee is nonrefundable.

Those amounts are set statewide. Florida Statutes 30.231 requires sheriffs in civil cases to charge fixed, nonrefundable fees, including $40 for each summons or writ and $50 in addition for writs, other than executions, that require a levy or seizure of property. The Sheriff's civil services fee page adds local terms: a separate $40.00 fee and service packet for each defendant, and a $35 per hour cash charge if a deputy is needed after the first 30 minutes.

Evictions served by the Sheriff follow a set routine. Once a writ of possession is filed, it is posted at the property, and the removal can happen any time after a 24 hour waiting period. An owner or landlord representative must be present and provide access, only people named on the writ are removed, and the owner changes the locks once deputies clear the premises.

Levies on property to satisfy a judgment run through a Sheriff's sale. The Writs and Levies page says the Notice of Sheriff's Sale is advertised for 4 consecutive weeks in the Press Journal, bidding is cash or cashier's checks only with no minimum bid, and a $500.00 liquidation fee applies. Deposits are $2,000.00 for vehicles, boats and motorcycles, $3,750.00 for dump trucks and heavy equipment, and $1,200.00 or $1,750.00 for real estate depending on the legal description. Real property protected by homestead exemption is not subject to levy. Proof of ownership must be a printout from the Tax Collector's Office for vehicles and boats, or a certified deed copy from the Clerk of the Court recording office for real estate.

The Sheriff's Office budget is set through the Board of County Commissioners, which gave the Sheriff an increase of $6,861,517, or 8.6%, for fiscal year 2026.

The Sheriff submits a proposed operating budget to the Board prior to May 1, according to the county annual financial report, which also notes that most funding for the constitutional officers comes through the county General Fund while the Board does not have direct responsibility for their operations. The same report describes the fiscal 2026 increase as substantial additional funding while minimizing the need for a tax rate increase.

A county false alarm ordinance is administered through the Sheriff. The Board of County Commissioners adopted Ordinance 301 on April 1, 2000, to cut false alarm dispatches, and the Sheriff's False Alarm Reduction Office administers it through alarm permits and fees. A charge applies only if the Sheriff's Office responds and finds the alarm to be false, and the money goes into the Alarm Ordinance Trust Fund rather than general operations.

Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Indian River County Sheriff's Office website and the county financial report.