Birth and death certificates — Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian residents get certified copies from the Vital Statistics office of the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County at 1900 27th St., Vero Beach, or online through VitalChek.

The Florida Department of Health in Indian River County lists two locations, neither in Sebastian. Vital records are handled at the Vital Statistics office at the main office of the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County, 1900 27th St., Vero Beach, phone 772-794-7460, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (DOH-Indian River). Florida birth and death certificates are issued through the Bureau of Vital Statistics at the Department of Health, and orders may be placed online, by mail, or in person (DOH-Indian River Certificates).

The health department also runs a Wabasso Satelite Site at 8445 64th Ave., Wabasso, FL 32970, phone 772-794-7480 (DOH-Indian River About Us). The certificates pages, however, direct in-person and mailed requests to the main office in Vero Beach.

The Indian River County Tax Collector's page for its Sebastian Office at Sebastian Corners, 1921 U.S. Highway #1, lists Birth Certificates among its available services, alongside driver license and property tax work (Indian River County Tax Collector). A Tax Collector help-center notice, archived by the Wayback Machine on March 15, 2026, said Tax Collector offices were temporarily unable to issue Florida birth certificates because of updates to the Department of Health E-Vitals system (Tax Collector notice, archived March 15, 2026). The Sebastian Office page still listed the service when checked on October 12, 2026, so a call to the Tax Collector at (772) 226-1338, the number on its website, settles whether Sebastian Corners can print one before a trip there. That listing covers birth certificates only. Death certificates for Sebastian families come from the Department of Health, by counter, mail or VitalChek.

Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County website.

At the Vero Beach Vital Statistics office that serves Sebastian, a birth certificate costs $12 and a death certificate costs $12, according to the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County.

Each additional birth certificate ordered at the Indian River County counter is $10 (DOH-Indian River birth certificates). For a death certificate, the county adds a $3 search fee per year when the exact year is unknown, and the maximum charge is $50 (DOH-Indian River death certificates). The search fee applies only when a Sebastian family cannot give the exact year of death.

Online orders cost more because of a vendor charge. VitalChek is a 3rd-party service, not affiliated with the Florida Department of Health, and fees charged by VitalChek may be different than fees charged when ordering directly through the local health department (DOH-Indian River). For a birth record, the state lists $19 for the first computer-generated certification (includes $9 search fee, and $10 rush fee) plus a $7 VitalChek processing fee (Florida Department of Health). For a death record through VitalChek, the state lists $15 for the first certificate (Florida Department of Health).

Mail and walk-in orders to the state Bureau in Jacksonville use the lower state schedule: a non-refundable $9 search fee is included in every birth order, and normal processing time for computer-generated birth certificates is 3-5 business days, not including shipping time (Florida Department of Health). The Jacksonville walk-in lobby at 1217 N Pearl St. keeps the same weekday hours as the Vero Beach counter that serves Sebastian.

Florida law keeps birth records confidential for 125 years, so a certified copy of a Sebastian or Indian River County birth goes only to the registrant, a parent, a guardian, a legal representative or a court order.

Florida Statutes 382.025 states that, except for birth records over 125 years old which are not under seal, all birth records of this state shall be confidential (Florida Statutes 382.025). The same section lets a spouse, child, grandchild or sibling of legal age obtain a copy upon receipt of the registrant's death certificate. The state Department of Health adds that a non-eligible applicant needs a notarized Affidavit to Release a Birth Certificate signed by an eligible requestor (Florida Department of Health). For a family settling an estate in Sebastian, that means the death certificate usually comes first.

At the Vero Beach counter, every request needs a valid photo ID such as a driver license, state ID, passport or military ID, and all identification must be valid and not expired; mailed requests need a clear photocopy (DOH-Indian River). The Birth Certificate Application Form asks for the person's full name, date of birth, county of birth, mother's full name including maiden name, and father's full name.

Date range matters for older Sebastian families. Birth certificates are available for all births in the State of Florida from 1930 to present at the Indian River County office (DOH-Indian River). Birth certificates in Florida prior to 1930 must be requested from the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Jacksonville, as must birth records under seal by reason of adoption, paternity determination, or court order (DOH-Indian River). The state notes that limited births were recorded between 1850 and 1917 (Florida Department of Health), so a birth in the Sebastian and Roseland area before 1917 may have no state record at all.

For a death in Sebastian, the funeral director files the death certificate within 5 days, and certified copies then come from the Vero Beach Vital Statistics office, VitalChek, or the state Bureau in Jacksonville.

Florida Statutes 382.008 requires a certificate for each death to be filed with the department or local registrar of the district in which the death occurred within 5 days after such death and prior to final disposition (Florida Statutes 382.008). The funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body files that certificate electronically, so for a death at home in the Sebastian Highlands or at a hospital in Vero Beach, the funeral home files that certificate before the family orders copies.

Death certificates are available locally for deaths occurring in Florida from 2009 to present; any death prior to 2009 must be requested from the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Jacksonville or through VitalChek (DOH-Indian River). A legible copy of a valid driver license, passport, state ID or military ID must accompany all requests at the Indian River County office, along with a completed Death Certificate Application.

Two versions of the record exist. Any person of legal age (18 or over) may apply for a certified copy of a death record without the cause of death, and the first five digits of the Social Security number are redacted (Florida Department of Health). Death records less than 50 years old with the cause of death are confidential and go only to the spouse or parent, an adult child, grandchild or sibling, a person showing an interest in the estate through a will or insurance policy, or a court order. DOH-Indian River states that a requester must be a family member or legal representative when requesting cause of death. Under Florida Statutes 382.025, all portions of a certificate of death shall cease to be exempt 50 years after the date of death (Florida Statutes 382.025).

Marriage and divorce certificates for Sebastian couples come from the Department of Health only for events after June 6, 1927; earlier ones come from the Clerk of Court in the county where the marriage license was issued or the divorce was granted.

The Florida Department of Health in Indian River County states that marriage certificates can only be issued for marriages occurring in Florida after June 6, 1927, and that divorce certificates follow the same date rule (DOH-Indian River Certificates). Marriage certificates prior to June 6, 1927 are obtainable from the Clerk of Court in the county where the marriage license was issued.

Births in other states are not Florida records. DOH-Indian River refers people not born in Florida to the National Center for Health Statistics for information on other states and on foreign birth records (DOH-Indian River). A Sebastian resident born outside Florida therefore starts with the National Center for Health Statistics, not the Vero Beach office.