Moving to Sebastian — Sebastian, Florida

A new Sebastian household deals with three offices: the City of Sebastian, Indian River County departments, and the county Tax Collector and Property Appraiser.

A move to Sebastian runs through three separate offices, and knowing which is which saves trips. The City of Sebastian handles building permits, local business tax receipts, garage sale permits and city elections from Sebastian City Hall at 1225 Main Street, which the City of Sebastian website lists as open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Indian River County government handles water and sewer, pet licenses, libraries and emergency management. The county constitutional officers, chiefly the Tax Collector and the Property Appraiser, handle licenses, tags and the homestead exemption.

Both of those constitutional officers keep a branch on U.S. 1 in Sebastian. The Tax Collector of Indian River County lists its Sebastian Office at 1921 U.S. Highway 1, Sebastian, FL 32958, and the Indian River County Property Appraiser lists its Sebastian Office at the same 1921 U.S. 1 address, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That makes the plaza on U.S. 1 the one stop where a new resident of Sebastian can handle most of the paperwork tied to the move without driving south to the county complex in Vero Beach.

The arrival pattern explains why homestead and title paperwork matter here more than in many Florida towns. The U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 counts 25,759 Sebastian residents with a median age of 57.6 and 83.5 percent of occupied homes owner occupied, so most households moving to Sebastian are buying, not renting.

State law gives a new Sebastian resident 30 days to get a Florida driver license and 10 days to title and register vehicles (FLHSMV).

Two clocks start when residency begins, and both are set by the state rather than by Indian River County. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says a new resident must obtain a valid Florida driver license within 30 days of establishing residency to drive on Florida roads, and must title and register vehicles, vessels and mobile homes with Florida insurance within 10 days of establishing residency. For a household arriving in Sebastian with a boat on a trailer, the 10-day rule covers the boat too.

The Tax Collector of Indian River County runs both services locally, and it works by appointment. Its appointment page states that property tax payments do not require an appointment but all other in-person services do, and that computer and road test appointments are currently only available to Indian River County residents. A household moving to Sebastian from Brevard or another state books online before going to the U.S. 1 office.

For an original license at the Sebastian office, the Tax Collector of Indian River County asks for an original or certified U.S. birth certificate or U.S. passport, a Social Security card, and 2 proofs of residential address from 2 different sources dated within the last 60 days, plus name change documents if a name has changed since birth.

A vehicle brought to Sebastian from out of state needs more than paperwork. The Tax Collector requires the certificate of title and proof of Florida insurance, and the vehicle must be present to have its VIN physically verified, with all owners present. If the vehicle has been owned for less than 6 months, proof of sales tax being paid must be presented. The office hours run 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 8:40 AM to 5:00 PM on Wednesday, with every location, including Sebastian, closed for lunch from 12 PM to 1 PM.

A new Sebastian homeowner must be a permanent Florida resident on January 1 and file for homestead with the Indian River County Property Appraiser by March 1.

Timing is the whole game with the Florida homestead exemption, and the Indian River County Property Appraiser states the two dates plainly: permanent Florida residency required on January 1, and the application due to the property appraiser by March 1. A buyer who closes on a house in the Sebastian Highlands in October and moves in that month is a resident on the next January 1 and files by the following March 1.

The Property Appraiser also notes that as of September 6th, all homestead exemption applications submitted will be for the 2027 tax year. That means a Sebastian homeowner who files in the fall of 2026 is filing for the 2027 bill, not the 2026 bill that arrives in November 2026. The application can go to the Sebastian Office at 1921 U.S. 1, phone (772) 226-1133, or to the Vero Office at 1800 27th Street, Building B, in Vero Beach.

The order of the steps matters in Sebastian because the deadlines stack. The 30-day driver license and 10-day registration come first under state rules, and a Florida license and Florida tag at the Sebastian address are then on record before the March 1 homestead filing at the same U.S. 1 plaza.

Indian River County Utilities, not the City of Sebastian, supplies water, sewer and reuse service in Sebastian.

Water is a county service in Sebastian, not a city one. Indian River County Utilities states that the county provides water, wastewater and reuse services to a major portion of the county population, including the City of Sebastian, and that the remaining residents are served by private wells and septic tanks, the City of Vero Beach Utilities or the City of Fellsmere Utilities. The county page does not list which Sebastian parcels remain on wells and septic tanks, so that answer sits with the utility for each address.

Indian River County Utilities posts separate owner and renter applications for service and keeps a customer service location at Sebastian Corners Plaza, 1921 US Highway 1, Sebastian, open 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Its instruction for anyone moving is direct: to transfer or cancel service, call (772) 770-5300. Bills go to a payment address in Charlotte, North Carolina, or through the online account and autopay system.

Electric service is a separate account. The Sebastian Police Department hurricane information page tells residents to report power outages to Florida Power and Light (FPL) at 800-4-OUTAGE, which is the number a Sebastian household keeps on hand once the account is set up.

Sebastian City Hall issues building permits, garage sale permits and local business tax receipts, and city ordinance sets design wind speeds of 150 to 170 mph.

Renovation is the first city contact for many new owners. The Sebastian Building Department takes nearly all permit types through the MGO Connect customer portal, accepts emailed applications as PDF files up to 30MB, and requires owner/builder permits to begin with an in-person application at the building department at 1225 Main St. in Sebastian, as Florida law requires. Inspections are scheduled through the same portal.

Hurricane design standards are set locally. The City of Sebastian notes that the Florida Building Code 2023 8th Edition took effect December 31st, 2023, and that by City Ordinance Number O-12-08 the adopted ultimate wind speeds for Sebastian are 150 mph for Risk Category I, 160 mph for Risk Category II and 170 mph for Risk Categories III and IV. Windows, doors and roofing on a Sebastian remodel are rated against those numbers. For flood questions, the city flooding page directs requests for elevation certificates to Community Development at 772-589-5518 or the Building Department at 772-589-5537.

Smaller rules surface in the first year. A Sebastian garage sale permit costs $2, no more than 4 sales are allowed at one residence in a calendar year, and each permit covers no more than 3 consecutive days. Anyone running a business from home needs a City of Sebastian Local Business Tax Receipt: the home-based business application fee is $50, the business may not take up more than 20% of the living area, and Building Department approval usually takes 3 weeks. Receipts renew starting July 1 and are due by September 30, with fees set by the Sebastian City Council.

Sebastian residents register to vote with the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections, license pets with county Animal Control and find evacuation zones through county Emergency Management.

Voter registration is a county function. The City of Sebastian election page sends questions about registration, precincts, polling places and early voting to the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections, Leslie Swan, at 772-226-4700, while city candidates file qualifying papers with the City Clerk at City Hall, generally 96 days before a Sebastian municipal election.

Pets need a county tag. Indian River County Animal Control requires a valid rabies certificate to buy a county license, charges $10.00 for a 1-year license for a spayed or neutered pet and $20.00 for an intact pet, and gives an owner 30 days after taking new ownership of a pet to obtain a license. A dog moving to Sebastian with its household falls under the same county rule as one adopted locally.

A library card comes from the county system. Indian River County Library Services lists the North Indian River County Library at 1001 Sebastian Boulevard, phone (772) 400-6360, as the North branch in Sebastian, alongside the Main branch in downtown Vero Beach, the Brackett Library and the Marian Fell Library in Fellsmere.

Storm planning starts with an address lookup. Indian River County Emergency Management posts an Interactive Evacuation Zone Viewer, public shelter and pet evacuation shelter lists, and the Alert Indian River notification sign-up, which together tell a Sebastian household its zone and its shelter before the first season. Last verified: October 10, 2026, on the City of Sebastian website and the Indian River County website.