Driver Licenses and ID Cards — Indian River County, Florida

Three Indian River County Tax Collector offices issue Florida licenses and ID cards: the Main Office at 1800 27th Street, the West Office on 82nd Avenue in Vero Beach, and the Sebastian Office at Sebastian Corners on U.S. 1.

In Vero Beach, the County Administration Complex houses the Main Office at 1800 27th Street, Building B, whose service list includes Driver License (Tax Collector Main Office). The West Office at Vero West Commercial Center, 1860 82nd Avenue, Suite 102, offers the same plus TSA PreCheck (Tax Collector West Office). In the north county, the Sebastian Office at Sebastian Corners, 1921 U.S. Highway 1, also handles licenses (Tax Collector Sebastian Office); the other three offices all carry Vero Beach addresses.

The fourth office does not. The Oceanside Office in the Oceanside County Complex, 3003 Cardinal Drive, Suite C, Vero Beach, lists motorist services, property tax, business tax and hunting and fishing, with a printed note that driver licenses are not offered at that location (Tax Collector Oceanside Office). Commercial drivers have one more constraint: Hazmat applications must be processed at the West Office (Tax Collector new resident article).

Every visit is booked ahead. The Tax Collector states that only property tax payments go without an appointment and that all other in-person services require one; computer and road test appointments are currently available only to Indian River County residents (Tax Collector appointment rules). Customers from Brevard, St. Lucie or other counties may book other license services in Vero Beach or Sebastian, but must take written and road tests through their own county's tax collector (Tax Collector out-of-county rules).

Hours are the same at the three license offices. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday run 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Wednesday starts at 8:40 AM, and all locations close from 12 PM to 1 PM; the Main and West drive-thrus in Vero Beach stay open through lunch, but only for registration renewals and replacements, parking placards and property tax payments, not licenses (Tax Collector office hours).

As of October 12, 2026, the Indian River County Tax Collector charges $48.00 for an original or renewal Class E license and $25.00 for an ID card, plus a $6.25 office service fee that may apply and that veterans do not pay.

Every amount in the middle column is taken from the Tax Collector's posted schedule, and that schedule warns that a $6.25 service fee may apply to any credential issued in a tax collector office (Tax Collector fee schedule). The third column is simple addition (schedule amount plus $6.25) for the transactions the schedule marks with an asterisk, the ones on which veterans are spared the fee; the late fee and endorsements carry no asterisk, so no total is shown for them. The ID card article states the combined figure directly: the fee for an original, renewal or replacement Florida ID card at the Vero Beach and Sebastian offices is $31.25, regardless of age (Tax Collector ID card article).

Veterans get a break at all three Indian River County license offices. A veteran who shows, or has already shown, proof of veteran status is not charged the $6.25 service fee on the marked transactions, and a replacement license is free to veterans when the only change is adding the Veteran designation (Tax Collector fee schedule). The same schedule lists a $15.00 late fee and $7.00 for endorsements.

A first Florida license at an Indian River County Tax Collector office requires a U.S. birth certificate or passport, a Social Security card and two proofs of residential address from two sources dated within 60 days.

The new-resident article from the Tax Collector lists those three items, original or certified, and adds that anyone whose name has changed since birth must also bring name change documents (Tax Collector new resident article). A commercial driver who must carry a medical card presents it when the license is issued. For newcomers to Sebastian Highlands, Vero Beach or Fellsmere, both address proofs must be recent and come from two different senders.

Former Floridians moving back to the county follow a shorter path if their old card was REAL ID compliant. In that case the Tax Collector says the applicant generally brings only the current out-of-state license or ID, and if nothing has changed, no additional documents are required (Tax Collector returning resident article). A new address means two fresh proofs of residence, and a returning driver whose old Florida card lacked the REAL ID mark starts over with the full first-license document set.

The state sets the identity rules behind those lists. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says customers must visit an office, in this county one of the three Tax Collector license counters, to become REAL ID compliant for the first time, and that REAL ID enforcement for boarding commercial flights began May 7, 2025 (FLHSMV REAL ID).

An Indian River County teen can get a learner license at 15 after completing the DETS course, passing vision and hearing tests at a Tax Collector office and passing the 50-question Class E knowledge exam.

The Tax Collector lists the steps on its learner license page (Tax Collector teen learner article). Applicants under 18 need a signed, notarized parental consent form only if a parent or guardian is not present at the Main, West or Sebastian office. The knowledge exam has 50 multiple-choice questions on traffic laws and signs, and a passing score is at least 80 percent, which is 40 correct answers. Proof of identity, Social Security number and residential address are required, and the visit is by appointment.

Teens under 18 may take the knowledge exam online through an approved third-party administrator rather than at the 27th Street or Sebastian Corners counters. Under Florida Statute 322.56, a driver who passes that way can be picked at random for a mandatory re-test at a driver license or tax collector office, and a failed re-test means paying the re-exam fee before trying again (Indian River County Tax Collector, same page).

The course requirement changed in 2025. The Tax Collector's course page says Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS), a six-hour course, is required for drivers under 18 applying for a learner license on or after August 1, 2025, while the four-hour Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education (TLSAE) course applies to first-time drivers 18 and older never licensed anywhere (Tax Collector course guide). Completions are reported electronically to FLHSMV, the Tax Collector says to allow 24 to 72 hours for a completion to appear in the system, and paper certificates are not accepted for licensing.

Indian River County drivers can renew a Florida license up to 18 months early, online through the state MyDMV portal or in person by appointment at a Tax Collector office, where a vision screening is part of the visit.

The Tax Collector's renewal article spells out the options (Tax Collector renewal article). Many drivers qualify to renew online without visiting Vero Beach or Sebastian at all. In the office, staff run a distance eye exam. A license without the gold star in its top right corner is not REAL ID compliant, and its holder must bring additional documents when renewing in person.

Cards printed at the Tax Collector counters in Vero Beach and Sebastian changed look this fall. FLHSMV reports that on September 30, 2026 it began issuing a newly designed Florida driver license and ID card with the Florida gator worked into the REAL ID star in the top right corner of all cards (FLHSMV REAL ID).

A replacement license is $25.00 on the fee schedule, the same figure as an ID card, before the $6.25 office fee (Tax Collector fee schedule). Older drivers in Sebastian, Vero Beach and the rest of the county can also look at the Mature Driver Course, which the Tax Collector lists for drivers 55 and older as a course that may qualify participants for an insurance discount, depending on the insurer (Tax Collector course guide).

Any Indian River County resident aged 5 or older can get a Florida ID card at the Main, West or Sebastian Tax Collector office for $31.25, valid 4 years for children 5 through 14 and 8 years from age 14.

The ID card uses the same documents as a first license: an original or certified U.S. birth certificate or a valid U.S. passport, a Social Security card, and two proofs of residential address from two sources dated within the last 60 days (Tax Collector ID card article). For children, the address proofs may be in a parent's or legal guardian's name, so a parent in Gifford or Wabasso can supply the household's address proofs. An applicant whose name has changed since birth also brings original or certified legal name change documents, such as a marriage certificate or court order.

Card length depends on age. Children 5 through 14 receive a card valid for 4 years, and applicants 14 and older receive one valid for 8 years, at the single $31.25 price for an original, renewal or replacement card. Like licenses, ID cards are by appointment at the County Administration Complex, the 82nd Avenue office and Sebastian Corners.

Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Indian River County Tax Collector website, with the card design and REAL ID rules checked on the FLHSMV site.