Traffic tickets and citations — Indian River County, Florida

A ticket written on U.S. 1 in Sebastian, on State Road 60 in Vero Beach or on a road near Fellsmere ends up with one office: the Traffic Department of the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

In the Clerk's own wording, it handles all traffic tickets issued in Indian River County, plus animal control and local code citations (Clerk Traffic page). The ticket goes to the same office whether a city officer, a Sheriff's deputy or a state trooper wrote it, so the options, deadlines and amounts below apply countywide. Its counter is Room 105 of the Vero Beach courthouse, 2000 16th Avenue, reached at (772) 226-3100, Ext. 3188.

For tickets from Vero Beach to Roseland, the Clerk FAQ lists four ways to resolve a citation: pay it within 30 days of the citation date, pay and elect traffic school within 30 days, request a court hearing, or request a payment plan, sign the agreement and make a down payment (Clerk FAQs). The ticket itself reaches the Clerk within several days of being written, so a driver who has lost the paper copy can still call the Vero Beach office for the amount. The citation number sits in the upper right hand corner near the bar code and usually starts with an A and ends with an E.

State law frames the same choice for every county driver, Sebastian to Vero Beach. Under section 318.14, someone who will not contest the ticket has 30 days from issuance to pay or to sign a payment plan with the clerk (section 318.14, Florida Statutes). Because a payment counts as an admission and gives up the hearing, the dispute route runs on a separate form at the Vero Beach and Sebastian counters.

Fines on the Vero Beach Clerk schedule include $98.00 for a non-moving ticket and $263.00 for driving 20 to 29 mph too fast, and the school or construction zone column climbs to $438.00.

Outside of speeding, the Clerk lists $148.00 for a general moving ticket ($144.20 with the school election), $98.00 for a non-moving ticket or a seat belt citation, $46.50 for a pedestrian or bicyclist citation and $248.00 for failing to stop for a school bus (Clerk fee schedule). The schedule marks its driving school column with an asterisk and the note 'Plus Defensive Driving School Fee'. Construction zone amounts apply only while construction personnel are present or operating equipment on or immediately beside the road.

Section 318.18 fixes thirty dollars for nonmoving violations, $60 for ordinary moving violations, and a separate speed ladder from $25 to $250 (section 318.18, Florida Statutes), and the Vero Beach Clerk's totals run higher than those base amounts. The Clerk schedule also prices a $10.00 dismissal with proof and $60.00 to reinstate a suspended license.

Drivers who dispute a ticket from anywhere in the county ask the Clerk in Vero Beach for a hearing within 30 calendar days, and a Traffic Hearing Officer decides the case without a jury.

The request is the Clerk's Plea of Not Guilty and Request for Hearing form, listing the case and citation numbers for each ticket in dispute (Clerk Traffic page). It can go in online through the statewide ePortal, by post to the Traffic Division box in Vero Beach, or across the counter at the courthouse on 16th Avenue or the Sebastian branch. The Clerk then schedules a date and sends the defendant a Notice to Appear by mail or email; a plea that arrives after the 30th day may already carry late charges.

According to the Clerk FAQ, a mailed hearing request should carry a current postal address, phone number and email address, and the court date and time are announced by email (Clerk FAQs). The FAQ names the North County office in Sebastian as a second place to fill out the written plea.

Some tickets close for a small fee instead. The FAQ lists six document violations, among them an expired tag, a license left at home and missing proof of insurance, that the Clerk will dismiss for $10 when the driver shows the document was valid on the day of the stop; the proof and a money order or cashier's check must reach the Vero Beach or Sebastian office within 30 days, after which the full fine applies (Clerk FAQs).

A Basic Driver Improvement election can keep points off a license for a ticket written in Indian River County when the driver elects it with the Vero Beach Clerk and pays inside 30 days, then files proof of completion on time.

State rules put the burden on the driver: the election has to be made voluntarily inside the first 30 days, the Clerk in the county of the ticket has to be told before the class, and that Clerk collects an election fee (FLHSMV Basic Driver Improvement). FLHSMV turns away commercial license holders, drivers clocked 30 mph or more over the limit, anyone who used the option within the last year, and anyone who has already used it eight times, rules that apply the same in Vero Beach as anywhere in Florida.

The reward appears in section 318.14(9): adjudication withheld, no points, and any civil penalty imposed under section 318.18(3) cut by 18 percent (section 318.14, Florida Statutes). On deadlines the Clerk speaks twice, giving 3 months for proof of completion on its Traffic page (Clerk Traffic page) and 90 days from payment for a four hour state-approved class in its FAQ (Clerk FAQs). Schools file completion certificates electronically each day, so drivers in Sebastian, Fellsmere or Vero Beach confirm receipt through a Court Case Search instead of driving to 16th Avenue; if the class is not finished in time, the FAQ warns of a penalty, points and, if that goes unpaid, suspension.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court offers payment plans on most traffic cases for a $25.00 administration fee per case, with at least 10 percent of the total paid down before the due date.

Requests to the Vero Beach Clerk go by email to ircpaymentplans@indianriverclerk.com and must list every case or citation number, and a driver eligible for traffic school can elect it in the same request (Clerk Traffic page). The FAQ adds that the plan requires a signed payment plan agreement and a minimum of 10% of the total owed plus the $25.00 fee before the due date (Clerk FAQs).

The Clerk in Vero Beach accepts cash, money orders, cashier's checks, Visa, MasterCard and Discover, and money orders are made out to Ryan Butler, Clerk of Court (Clerk Traffic page). Personal and business checks are refused by mail, and card payments carry a 3.5% convenience fee (Clerk FAQs).

Missing the 30-day window adds a $23 late fee at the Clerk of the Circuit Court and sends the driver license number to the State for suspension, with a $60 reinstatement fee if the suspension takes effect.

The Clerk FAQ sets out the sequence for any county driver, Vero Beach or Sebastian: the late fee is added, the State mails a notice of the suspension date, and paying the full amount at least one business day before that date lets the Clerk block the suspension (Clerk FAQs). After that, the $60 reinstatement fee is due on top of the total fine. The Traffic page confirms that a license suspended for an unpaid Indian River County citation can be reinstated by paying the citation plus late fees and reinstatement fees (Clerk Traffic page).

Two related services also come from the Clerk in Vero Beach. With a picture ID, a driver may buy a personal Florida driving record for $14.25 for three years or $16.25 for the complete record, and juvenile traffic cases are not shown online, so families call 772-226-3100 ext 3188 (Clerk Traffic page). Last verified: October 12, 2026, against the Clerk's Traffic, FAQ and fee pages.