Small claims court — Indian River County, Florida

Every small claims case in Indian River County, from Fellsmere to Vero Beach, is filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and heard in County Court when the amount sought is $8,000 or less.

The ceiling is set out on the Clerk's own page, which routes claims of up to $8,000 to Small Claims court (Indian River County Clerk, Small Claims). The Statement of Claim form in the Clerk's packet is captioned for the County Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Indian River County, and the plaintiff checks one of several claim types: an auto accident, goods sold, work done and materials furnished, money lent, a promissory note, an account stated, or another claim described in writing (Statement of Claim form, packet page 2).

The Civil Department is in Room 158 of the courthouse at 2000 16th Avenue, Vero Beach, phone (772) 226-3100, and its packets are also posted online (Clerk Small Claims page). The Clerk also lists a Sebastian Office at 1921 U.S. Highway 1, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 am to 5 pm, phone (772) 226-1147; the Clerk does not state that small claims can be filed there. Claims from Indian River Shores, Orchid, Gifford and the unincorporated county go to the same court, since the Statement of Claim is captioned in and for Indian River County as a whole.

Venue can move a case filed at the Vero Beach courthouse. Rule 7.060 of the Florida Small Claims Rules (rule heading, page 10) requires the summons to list the proper places to sue, such as where a contract was made or where a defendant resides, and a defendant sued elsewhere must appear on the court date and orally request a transfer, or file a sworn written request 7 days before that date (Florida Small Claims Rules, page 11).

Indian River County Clerk filing fees for small claims run in five tiers, from $55.00 for claims up to $100 to $300.00 for claims between $2,501 and $8,000, with summons and sheriff charges billed on top.

The filing tiers, the summons charge and the $295.00 counterclaim fee all come from the Clerk's published schedule (Clerk fee schedule). The same schedule prices a reopened case at $25.00 under $500 and $50.00 over $500, and lists a 3.5% credit and debit card fee charged by the credit card company. Above the small claims ceiling, a county court civil action of more than $8,001.00 but not more than $15,000.00 costs $300.00 at the Vero Beach courthouse.

The $3.50 line appears in the packet rather than the online schedule: the Statement of Claim must be notarized or may be signed by a deputy clerk, and the deputy clerk charge to sign and seal it is $3.50 (packet page 1). As a worked example from those figures, a $1,800 claim against one Fellsmere defendant served by the Sheriff costs $175.00 plus $10.00 plus $40.00, or $225.00, before any notary or deputy clerk charge.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court asks plaintiffs to arrive with the defendant correctly named, the original Statement of Claim plus a copy for every defendant and one for themselves, and two self-addressed stamped envelopes.

Naming the right party is the first hurdle the packet addresses. Suing a corporation requires its correct name, its state of incorporation, and the name and address of an officer or resident agent, which the Secretary of State publishes at sunbiz.org (packet page 1). The packet warns that a fictitious name cannot be sued because it is not an entity, and points filers to the defendant's occupational license information at the Indian River County Tax Collector's office as another way to find who stands behind a trade name.

Payment and paperwork rules are strict at the Vero Beach counter. The packet states in capitals that the Clerk's Office does not accept personal checks (packet page 1). One stamped envelope returns the filer's copy of the claim and summons, and the second goes to the Indian River County Sheriff's Office if its deputies will serve the papers. A business plaintiff must state whether it is incorporated, a d/b/a or a franchise on the claim forms.

The Clerk's online list adds the rest of the case forms, among them a Statement of Counterclaim, a Small Claims Affidavit, a Final Disposition Form, a Subpoena and a Subpoena Duces Tecum, an Application for Civil Indigency for filers who cannot pay the fees, and a Request To Be Excused from Email Service (Clerk Small Claims forms). Self-represented litigant videos linked on that page cover opening a portal account and filing a new case online, so a filer in Vero Lake Estates or Roseland need not drive to 16th Avenue to start.

After filing, the Indian River County Sheriff or a private process server delivers the summons, and the clerk schedules a pretrial conference no more than 50 days after the case is filed.

The Sheriff's Office is at 4055 41st Avenue, Vero Beach, phone (772) 569-6700, with lobby hours of 8 am to 5 pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 8 am to 7 pm on Tuesday (Indian River County Sheriff's Office). Its fee is $40.00 for each summons, subpoena, order or writ, a separate fee and service packet are required for each defendant, and all Sheriff's fees are nonrefundable per statute. The Clerk adds that the Sheriff will not take personal checks, so service is paid by cashier's check, money order or business check, and that a defendant living outside the county is served under that county's own requirements (Clerk Small Claims page). Once the Sheriff's Civil Division returns the Return of Service and Summons, the plaintiff is responsible for filing it with the Clerk (packet page 1).

Statewide rules govern the court date in Vero Beach. Rule 7.090 says the initial pretrial conference shall be set by the clerk not more than 50 days from the date the action is filed, and lists what is considered there, including simplification of issues, admissions of fact and documents, limits on witnesses and the possibilities of settlement (Florida Small Claims Rules, page 16). If the case does not settle, the court sets trial not more than 60 days from the pretrial conference, with at least 10 days of notice (Florida Small Claims Rules, page 17).

Defending a claim needs no written answer unless the court orders one: written pretrial motions and defensive pleadings are not necessary, and filing one does not excuse a party's personal appearance at the pretrial conference (Rule 7.090(c)). A defendant with a claim of its own files the Statement of Counterclaim, priced at $295.00 at $2500 and over on the Clerk schedule. The Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, which covers Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties, runs a small claims mediation program for claims for relief less than $8,000, reachable at 772-807-4370 (Nineteenth Circuit mediation).

A small claims judgment in Indian River County is collected by the winner, not the court, through a recorded lien, a writ of execution levied by the Sheriff, or a writ of garnishment.

The Clerk's judgment collection sheet in the packet lays out three routes (packet page 7). First, a certified copy of the Final Judgment from the Civil Division of the Vero Beach courthouse, recorded in the Recording Department, creates a lien against any real estate in the county owned by the defendant then or later. Recording costs $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each page thereafter, and copying costs $1.00 per page plus $2.00 for the certification.

Second, a Writ of Execution can be obtained fifteen days after entry of the Final Judgment; it is filed with the Department of State and then delivered to the Sheriff for levy of certain property (packet page 7). For other enforceable writs, such as writs of possession and replevin, the Sheriff's schedule adds $50 to the $40 service fee, a charge it does not apply to executions requiring seizure of persons or property (Sheriff fees). Third, a Writ of Garnishment against an employer, tenant or bank holding the defendant's money is also available fifteen days after judgment, at $85.00 plus $40.00 for Sheriff's service, paid as two separate payments by money order, business check or cashier's check.

Procedural help for small claims comes from the Clerk's Access to Justice Self-Help Center at the Vero Beach courthouse, with remote kiosks in Sebastian, Fellsmere and at the Up Center.

The Self-Help Center lists Small Claims among its three subjects, along with Family Law and Residential Evictions, and offers cost-effective attorney consultations, explanations of court process, and help buying, filling out and submitting forms (Self-Help Center). Its staff and attorneys are not acting as the visitor's lawyer. The phone is 772-226-3162, Spanish is spoken, and the courthouse desk at 2000 16th Ave., Vero Beach, keeps weekday hours of 8:30 to 4:30 with a lunch closure from 1:00 to 2:00.

Kiosks at the remote sites can be used any time those buildings are open to the public. Last verified: October 12, 2026, against the Clerk's Self-Help Center, Small Claims and fee pages.