Department of Health — Indian River County, Florida

DOH-Indian River works from two listed sites: the Main Office at 1900 27th Street in Vero Beach and a satellite site at 8445 64th Avenue in Wabasso, with a nurse on call around the clock.

Both locations appear on the department's About Us page with their own lines: 772-794-7400 for the Main Office and 772-794-7480 for the Wabasso Satellite Site (DOH-Indian River About Us). The same page states that the department has a nurse on-call, available 24/7, and cites the 2020 Census count of 159,788 people in Indian River County, the population the two sites serve from Fellsmere and Sebastian to Vero Beach.

The Wabasso site grew out of neighborhood planning. DOH-Indian River says its first Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health project in Wabasso began in 2004 and a second followed in 2021, and lists the services now offered there: free on-site screenings with partner groups, referrals, WIC, HIV/AIDS prevention and testing, a congregate meal site for seniors five days a week with the Senior Resources Association, the Whole Family Health Center Mobile Medical Office, a Treasure Coast Food Bank pantry, and applications for help with utilities, rent and prescriptions through Indian River County Human Services (Wabasso Satellite Location). The department events calendar showed the Whole Family Health Center Mobile Clinic at the satellite site on October 13, 2026 (DOH-Indian River home page).

Through its Clinical Services programs, listed under the 1900 27th Street mailing address in Vero Beach, the department runs family planning, HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, immunization, school health and WIC programs, most of them priced on a sliding scale by income and family size.

The Clinical Services page lists those six programs and states that clients may go through the income process or pay the full fee (DOH-Indian River Clinical Services). New patients bring a photo ID, such as a driver's license, passport, work or school ID, plus any insurance information, and the eligibility desk answers at 772-794-7425 (DOH-Indian River Eligibility).

Some services sit outside the sliding scale. The eligibility page names family planning, STD testing and counseling, and tuberculosis and communicable disease control as services whose fee varies, and lists childhood immunizations for ages 2 months through 18 as free when the child qualifies under the federal Vaccines for Children program. For Medicaid coverage of fees, the eligibility page points Sebastian, Fellsmere and Vero Beach patients alike to the Department of Children and Families, 1-866-762-2237.

For childhood immunizations, families from Sebastian, Fellsmere or Vero Beach can call the same 772-794-7425 line for more information, and the Immunizations page asks that each person needing services bring earlier immunization records and a picture ID, with prior records available before or at the visit (DOH-Indian River Immunizations). Vital records are issued through the state Bureau of Vital Statistics: Florida birth certificates from 1930 to the present and death certificates from 2009 to the present can be requested by mail, in person or online through VitalChek (DOH-Indian River Certificates).

Septic permits and inspections for Sebastian, Fellsmere, Vero Beach and unincorporated Indian River County still go through the county health department, because the 2025 state transfer to DEP covered only 16 named counties.

The statewide onsite sewage page names the 16 counties, from Bay and Escambia to Wakulla and Washington, where the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has managed septic permitting since January 2, 2025, and tells residents of every other county to contact the local county health department for permitting and inspections (Florida Department of Health, Onsite Sewage). Indian River County is not on that list, so a septic permit for a lot in Sebastian, Fellsmere or Vero Beach stays with the county health department. The same page notes two older changes: DEP has enforced the state's septic laws and rules since July 1, 2021, and since July 1, 2022 owners, or contractors with the owner's authorization, may hire a private provider for inspections. Operating permits apply only in counties that use them, for aerobic treatment units, performance-based systems, commercial systems and industrial-zoned systems.

Paper trails for existing systems are online. Septic Search is a free service for Indian River County agencies, residents, contractors and realtors; scanned site plans are available for permits issued after January 1, 2000, and records are found by address or tax parcel ID as listed by the Indian River County Property Appraiser (DOH-Indian River Online Septic Search). Applications, permits, repairs, site evaluations and inspections are among the documents shown. Questions go to the Environmental Health Office at 772-794-7440, on 27th Street in Vero Beach.

A home sale adds one more step. DOH-Indian River advises that a buyer request an inspection and assessment of a septic system, and states that by law only a state-licensed septic tank contractor or plumber, or a certified environmental health professional, can perform it (DOH-Indian River Voluntary Inspections). The page also points buyers to the Homebuyer's Guide to Septic Systems.

DOH-Indian River permits private wells under 6 inches in diameter anywhere in Indian River County, under an agreement with the St. Johns River Water Management District, which keeps the larger wells.

The Private Well Water page states that anyone who plans to construct, repair or abandon a well under 6 inches must first obtain a permit from the county office, and that the owner or a licensed water well contractor acting for the owner may apply (DOH-Indian River Private Well Water). The governing rules it cites are Chapter 373, Florida Statutes, and Chapters 62-532, 64E-8 and 40C-3 of the Florida Administrative Code, which set contractor licensing, construction methods and setbacks from sanitary hazards.

The department places the duty for water quality on the owner: the property owner is responsible for making sure the water a private well produces is safe to drink, and the office advises on which contaminants to test for. Existing well construction records for Indian River County sit in the same Septic Search system used for septic files, so a buyer in Fellsmere or the Vero Beach countryside can look up both from one parcel search.

Environmental Public Health, at 772-794-7440 on 27th Street in Vero Beach, also covers pools, mobile home and RV parks, group care homes, tattoo and tanning businesses, rodent control and sanitary nuisance complaints across Indian River County.

The section's program list runs from biomedical waste and body piercing through drinking water, Florida Healthy Beaches, food safety, migrant labor housing, public swimming pools and bathing places, and an Indian River Lagoon and Coconut Point page (DOH-Indian River Environmental Public Health). Permit holders can pay fees and print renewal permits online. The section also says it advises the public, businesses and other agencies during hurricanes, floods, sewage spills and other emergencies.

Complaints have a set route. The department is authorized to investigate reports of a sanitary nuisance, a category that includes untreated human waste, garbage and dead animals, conditions that breed flies or mosquitoes, and improperly built or maintained septic tanks, and reports are taken at 772-794-7440 (DOH-Indian River Complaint Investigations). Staff also respond to complaints about facilities the department permits, and the page notes that indoor air quality complaints, especially about mold, are common.

A rabies alert covers all of Indian River County from September 24 to November 24, 2026, and possible exposures are reported to animal control, or to a separate number inside the City of Vero Beach.

The banner on the department's Rabies Surveillance page reads Rabies Alert Issued for Indian River County, effective September 24, 2026 through November 24, 2026 (DOH-Indian River Rabies Surveillance). To report a possible rabies exposure the page lists animal control at 772-226-3485, and 772-978-4600 for callers in the City of Vero Beach. It also states that dogs, cats and ferrets must be vaccinated against rabies under Florida law.

The department's home page gives a second number, 772-794-7472, for rabies information or to report an animal bite, the same line it lists for reporting diseases (DOH-Indian River). The banner gives November 24, 2026 as the end of the alert. Last verified: October 12, 2026, against the DOH-Indian River About Us, Online Septic Search, Private Well Water and Rabies Surveillance pages and the statewide onsite sewage page.