Marriage licenses and weddings — Indian River County, Florida

Marriage licenses in Indian River County are sold by the Clerk of the Circuit Court at two counters: Room 119 of the courthouse in Vero Beach every weekday, and the Sebastian Office on U.S. 1 three days a week.

Neither Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere nor Indian River Shores issues licenses through city hall, so a couple from Orchid, Gifford or Vero Lake Estates goes to the same two counters. No appointment is needed at either counter, and Florida residency is not a condition for an Indian River County license (Clerk marriage licenses). The license itself is signed by the clerk: section 741.01 says every Florida marriage license is issued by a county court judge or clerk of the circuit court under hand and seal (F.S. 741.01).

The Sebastian hours need care. One notice on the Clerk's page puts the Sebastian window at 8:30 in the morning until 5:00 in the evening, with a lunch closure from noon to 1, yet the location note lower on that page says licenses are processed there until 4:30pm (Indian River County Clerk). The Clerk's contact page calls the counter the North County Annex and lists it as open 8:30 am to 5 pm on those three days (Clerk contact page). A couple heading north on U.S. 1 for a late afternoon visit is safer calling (772) 226-1147 first, and on a Tuesday or Thursday only the Vero Beach courthouse is open for licenses.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court charges $86 for an Indian River County marriage license, cut to $61 for Florida residents who show a premarital preparation course certificate when they apply.

Both amounts are on the Clerk's fee schedule, along with a 3.5 percent surcharge for credit and debit cards (Indian River County Clerk fee schedule). Only cash or a credit card is taken when the application is made, per the marriage page, so personal checks are refused at the Vero Beach and Sebastian counters alike.

Most of the price is set by the Legislature, not by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Vero Beach. Under section 741.01, each Florida license price is raised by $25 that is deposited in the Domestic Violence Trust Fund, a second $25 goes each month to the courts' revenue trust fund, and the clerk may keep $2 for receiving the application (F.S. 741.01). Subsection (4) of the same section cuts the price by $25 when the premarital course was completed within one year before the couple applies, which matches the $25 gap between the two Indian River County prices ($86 minus $61).

The Clerk of the Circuit Court in Vero Beach and Sebastian needs an online application, photo identification, a Social Security number for each applicant and signed statements about the premarital course and the Family Law Handbook.

The process starts on the Clerk's Official Records website, where the couple fills in the Marriage Application and receives a seven digit number (Clerk procedure). That number, with a driver's license, state identification card or passport, goes to the Recording Department in Room 119 or to the Sebastian Office; at the courthouse, a Deputy Clerk reviews the application and prepares the license. Applicants with a prior marriage list the exact date it ended. Noncitizens without a Social Security number can offer an alien registration number or other identification instead.

Two written statements are a legal condition of issue. Section 741.04 bars a clerk of the circuit court from issuing any license until the couple says in writing if a premarital preparation course was finished and confirms that each partner has gone through the state handbook on marital rights and duties (F.S. 741.04). In Indian River County that means the Family Law Handbook (2021), which the Clerk posts in English and in Spanish and also lets applicants read at the Vero Beach courthouse on arrival. Applicants 18 and older need no parental consent.

The discount course has its own rules under section 741.0305: not less than 4 hours, taken together or separately, from a licensed psychologist, clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, mental health counselor, trained religious representative or a provider the judicial circuit designates (F.S. 741.0305). Each provider files an affidavit with the clerk of the circuit court; the Indian River County Clerk keeps a registration packet for providers and an authorized list for couples.

For Florida residents without the course, a license from the Vero Beach or Sebastian counter takes effect three days after purchase and then runs 57 days; couples from other states and couples with a course certificate skip the wait and get 60 days.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court prints the start date in box 18a of the license and the expiration date in box 19 (Indian River County Clerk). Any day inside that window works for the ceremony. The wait comes from section 741.04, which tells the clerk to delay the effective date by 3 days from the application when no course certificates are submitted, to print that date in bold type, and to waive the wait for couples from outside Florida or couples who claim hardship (section 741.04). The same section allows a county court judge issuing a license to waive the delay for Florida residents who show good cause.

Counting matters for a weekend wedding. A Florida resident couple without the course who buys a license at the Vero Beach courthouse on a Monday has an effective date three days later, on Thursday, so a Saturday ceremony on the barrier island or in Fellsmere falls inside the window.

The marriage page of the Clerk of the Circuit Court offers no courthouse ceremony service in Vero Beach or Sebastian; it sends couples to any Florida notary public or member of the clergy, even though state law also lets clerks of the circuit courts officiate.

Section 741.07 lists who may solemnize a Florida marriage: ordained clergy, all judicial officers including retired judicial officers, circuit court clerks and Florida notaries public (F.S. 741.07). On its own page, the Indian River County Clerk tells couples they may visit any Florida notary or member of the clergy to perform the ceremony, and its ceremony rules name a notary public, an ordained clergy and all judicial officers (Clerk marriage licenses). A search of the Clerk's website for the word ceremony on October 12, 2026 returned only that marriage license page, with no booking for weddings at the courthouse on 16th Avenue or the Sebastian Office.

Two rules apply wherever the vows happen in the county, from a Vero Beach chapel to a beach on Orchid Island: the license is good only for a ceremony held inside Florida, and witnesses are not required.

The signed license goes back to the Indian River County Clerk of the Circuit Court within 10 days of the ceremony, and once it is recorded the Clerk returns the original along with a certified copy.

Return can be by mail or in person at the Recording Department (Indian River County Clerk). Once recorded in the Official Records, the license becomes a public record of the Clerk, and the fee schedule lists online eCertified copies of any recorded instrument at $9.00 (Clerk fee schedule).

A state certificate follows more slowly. Per the Florida Department of Health, recorded licenses travel from the county clerk to the Bureau of Vital Statistics for permanent filing in roughly 60 days, and couples needing immediate evidence sooner may contact the clerk of court in the county that issued the license (Florida Department of Health). The Bureau holds certificates from June 6, 1927 forward; an order through VitalChek costs $15 for the first certificate plus a $7 VitalChek processing fee, while a walk-in or mail order to the Bureau starts with a $5 search fee that includes one certified copy. Marriages before June 6, 1927 come only from the clerk of the county that issued the license, which for a license issued by Indian River County means the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Vero Beach. Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Clerk of the Circuit Court website for Indian River County (marriage license, fee and contact pages).