Birth and death certificates — Indian River County, Florida

The Vital Statistics counter of the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County, at 1900 27th St. in Vero Beach, is the one county office that issues both birth and death certificates.

That counter takes walk-in and mailed requests on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and its direct line is 772-794-7460 (DOH-Indian River birth certificates). The same Vero Beach address is the main office of the health department, which also runs a Wabasso Satelite Site at 8445 64th Ave. (DOH-Indian River locations). Neither certificate page names the Wabasso site, so requests from Wabasso, Roseland and Fellsmere go to the 27th Street office or out by mail.

The Indian River County Tax Collector adds three more doors for birth records only. Its Main Office in the County Administration Complex at 1800 27th Street, Building B, lists Birth Certificates among its services (Tax Collector Main Office). So does the West Office at Vero West Commercial Center, 1860 82nd Avenue, Suite 102 (Tax Collector West Office), and the Sebastian Office at Sebastian Corners, 1921 U.S. Highway #1 in Sebastian (Tax Collector Sebastian Office). The Oceanside Office at 3003 Cardinal Drive does not list birth certificates (Tax Collector Oceanside Office).

The Tax Collector location pages list the service but give no fee or wait time, and a help-center notice from the Tax Collector, saved in the Wayback Machine on March 15, 2026 (Tax Collector notice), said its offices were temporarily unable to issue Florida birth certificates, so a trip to Sebastian Corners or the West Office for a birth record should start with a call to the Tax Collector at (772) 226-1338 (Indian River County Tax Collector). Its Main Office opens at 8 a.m. on most weekdays and 8:40 a.m. on Wednesdays, closes from noon to 1 p.m., and runs drive thru service through the lunch hour. No certificate counter is listed in Fellsmere, Indian River Shores or Orchid.

Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County website.

A walk-in birth or death certificate at the Vero Beach Vital Statistics counter costs $12, which is cheaper than the state's online channel for both records.

At the Vero Beach counter, the second and later birth certificates in one order are $10 each (DOH-Indian River). A death record search adds $3 for each year searched when the requester cannot name the year, up to $50 (DOH-Indian River death certificates). The county page warns that VitalChek is a 3rd-party service whose charges can differ from those of the local health department (DOH-Indian River certificates).

The state online price for a birth record bundles a $9 search and a $10 rush charge into the $19 figure, then VitalChek adds $7 (Florida Department of Health). Its online death price of $15 likewise includes a $5 one-year search and the $10 rush fee (Florida Department of Health). For a household in Gifford or Vero Lake Estates, a drive to the 27th Street counter therefore costs less than ordering the same record online.

The fee ranges behind the prices at the 27th Street counter are set in statute. Florida Statutes 382.0255 attaches an extra $4 to each birth certification, issued by the department or by a local registrar, and $1.50 of it moves quarterly to the Child Welfare Training Trust Fund (Florida Statutes 382.0255). The same section prices a commemorative birth certificate at $25. Fees are nonrefundable, except that copies paid for are refunded when no record turns up, and birth certificate fees are waived for a certified unaccompanied homeless youth and for young adults who were in Department of Children and Families custody at 18.

A Florida birth record ordered in Vero Beach or Sebastian is released only to the requesters Florida law lists, such as the person named, a parent, a guardian or a legal representative, because Florida law holds birth records confidential until they are 125 years old.

Florida Statutes 382.025 makes every birth record confidential unless it is over 125 years old and not sealed by a court (Florida Statutes 382.025). The registrant qualifies at legal age, and so do a certified homeless youth and a minor whose disabilities of nonage were removed. Once a death certificate is presented, a spouse, child, grandchild or sibling of legal age may also order the record, and the department matches births to deaths so that the copy is marked deceased. That rule is what lets a Fellsmere or Indian River Shores family settle an estate using a parent's birth record.

Anyone outside that list needs a notarized Affidavit to Release a Birth Certificate signed by an eligible person, with photo ID copies from both people (Florida Department of Health). The Vero Beach office asks for an unexpired driver license, state ID, passport or military ID, and a readable photocopy of it for mailed orders (DOH-Indian River birth certificates). The county application asks for the full name, the date and county of birth, the mother's full and maiden name, and the father's name.

Date limits shape older searches. The Indian River County office covers Florida births from 1930 to present (DOH-Indian River certificates), and births before 1930, plus records sealed for adoption, paternity or court order, come only from the Bureau in Jacksonville (DOH-Indian River). The state records only limited births between 1850 and 1917 (Florida Department of Health), so early Wabasso and Roseland families may find no state record from those decades.

A death in Indian River County is filed electronically by the funeral director within 5 days, and copies for deaths since 2009 can then be ordered at the Vero Beach Vital Statistics counter.

Florida Statutes 382.008 requires the certificate for each death in Florida, including one in Sebastian, Vero Beach or Fellsmere, to be filed with the department or local registrar within 5 days and before final disposition, and assigns the filing to the funeral director who first takes custody (Florida Statutes 382.008).

The 27th Street office issues death certificates for Florida deaths from 2009 to present, and anything earlier goes to the Bureau in Jacksonville or VitalChek (DOH-Indian River death certificates). The county office requires a legible copy of a valid photo ID and a completed Death Certificate Application with every request, and it releases cause of death only to a family member or legal representative.

The state draws the line in two versions. Any adult 18 or older may order the public copy without cause of death, and on that copy the state redacts the first five digits of the decedent's Social Security number (Florida Department of Health). The copy with cause of death stays confidential for 50 years and goes to a spouse, parent, adult child, grandchild or sibling, someone holding a will or insurance policy tied to the estate, an agent of those people, or a court. A requester outside that group files a notarized Affidavit to Release Cause of Death Information, DH Form 1959. Under s. 382.025, the whole certificate opens to the public 50 years after the date of death (Florida Statutes 382.025), so a Vero Beach death from 1975 is already fully public.

Births before 1930, sealed birth records, deaths before 2009 and marriages or divorces before June 6, 1927 cannot be issued at the Vero Beach counter and come from Jacksonville or a county Clerk of Court.

The Department of Health in Indian River County issues marriage and divorce certificates only for events in Florida after June 6, 1927, and sends earlier requests to the Clerk of Court in the county where the license was issued or the divorce granted (DOH-Indian River certificates). For a marriage licensed in Indian River County, that means the county's own Clerk of the Circuit Court.

The state Bureau keeps a walk-in lobby at 1217 N Pearl St., Jacksonville, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and takes mail at P.O. Box 210 (Florida Department of Health). Computer-generated birth certificates mailed from there normally take 3 to 5 business days plus shipping, and a $10 rush fee buys priority. Death records since 2009 follow the same 3 to 5 day timeline, while older death records need extra processing time (Florida Department of Health). The state lists only limited death records for 1877 to 1917, so a Sebastian or Vero Beach death from that era may not be on file.