What should you handle in the first 30 days after moving to St. Johns County?

The first month after a move to St. Johns County is a stack of clocks that start on different days. Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles gives a new resident 30 days to get a Florida driver license and 10 days to title and register a vehicle, vessel, or mobile home. The St. Johns County Property Appraiser uses January 1 for homestead eligibility and March 1 for the filing deadline. The Florida Department of State closes voter registration 29 days before an election. School enrollment, a utility account, and trash collection follow the street address. The pages below were read on November 12, 2026. A fee that depends on vehicle weight, or an insurance premium that depends on the roof and the flood zone, stays on the agency chart and the quote.

When Florida residency starts

FLHSMV’s new-resident page says you may be considered a Florida resident when you have started employment or a trade in the state, enrolled your children in a public school here, registered to vote here, filed for a homestead exemption on property here, or lived in the state for more than six consecutive months. Any one of those acts is the residency the page describes. A household that enrolls a child, takes a job, or files homestead in the first week is using one of those acts in that week. Living in the state for more than six consecutive months is the last item on that list. The visiting-Florida FAQ repeats that list.

Driver license

The new-resident page says a new Florida resident must obtain a valid Florida driver license within 30 days of establishing residency to drive on Florida roads. The visiting FAQ says current law requires proof of legal name, lawful presence, a Social Security number, and two forms of residential address. If a name changed by marriage, divorce, or court order, that FAQ says those documents come with the application. The application is in person at an office that offers driver license services. The applicant takes a vision test. The new-resident page says an applicant may be eligible for a license without a written test or a road test.

The fee for an initial Florida Class E license, including a learner’s permit, is $48.00 on the new-resident page. An identification card is $25.00. FLHSMV says most local tax collector offices also charge a $6.25 service fee, and it links a full fee chart. Endorsements and commercial licenses are priced on that chart. The figures here are the ones the new-resident page prints for a first Class E license and an ID card.

In this county the offices are the Tax Collector’s. The contact page lists four, all at (904) 209-2250. The main office, 4030 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, FL 32084, in ZIP 32084, is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It lists full driver license services, including testing. Road tests are by appointment. Written tests stop at 4 p.m. Nonimmigrant driver license transactions stop at 4:30 p.m. The driver license FAQ says driving tests for an operator license are offered only at that main office, by appointment.

Three branches list express driver license service, meaning renewals, address changes, and written exams, plus tag and title. Each is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and written tests there also stop at 4 p.m. Dupont Center is 6658 US 1 South, St. Augustine, FL 32086, in ZIP 32086. Julington Creek is 725 Flora Branch Boulevard, St. Johns, FL 32259, in ZIP 32259. Ponte Vedra is 151 Sawgrass Corners Drive, Suite 100, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082, in ZIP 32082. FLHSMV’s St. Johns location page lists the same four tax-collector service centers and says a tax collector service fee is added to motorist services fees.

The Tax Collector’s driver license page says an office visit uses original documents that prove identity, a Social Security number, and a residential address. That page also says you may apply to register to vote when you receive a Florida driver license or identification card. The license address comes back at homestead time. The Property Appraiser requires a valid Florida driver license or Florida identification card that shows the homestead address.

Vehicle title, registration, and vessels

The new-resident page says you must obtain insurance from a Florida insurance agent licensed to sell insurance in Florida in order to title and register vehicles, vessels, and mobile homes within 10 days of establishing residency. The motor vehicle registrations page states the vehicle rule on the same window: a vehicle with an out-of-state registration must be registered within 10 days of the owner becoming employed, placing children in public school, or establishing residency. A complete registration on that page is a metal plate, a registration certificate in the vehicle, and a decal on the plate. The page cites section 320.38, Florida Statutes, for where the plate is attached, and section 320.0605 for carrying the certificate.

FLHSMV’s St. Johns location page prints a sequence for new residents: obtain the Florida driver license, obtain automobile insurance from a company licensed to do business in Florida, then title and register the vehicle and get the plate. The 10-day registration clock and the 30-day license clock are both printed. Florida insurance is the document the title packet requires.

For a vehicle with a lien, the new-resident page says to ask the lienholder to send the out-of-state title for a Florida transfer. The vehicle still has to be registered if the lienholder keeps the title. A written refusal on the lienholder’s letterhead can be brought to a motor vehicle service center for a registration. If the lienholder will transfer the title, the owner completes HSMV form 82040, Application for Certificate of Title With/Without Registration, at the service center.

For a vehicle with no lien, the packet is proof of identity for every owner, proof of Florida insurance, the original out-of-state title, form 82040 signed by all owners, and a physical inspection of the vehicle identification number. The inspection can be on form 82040 or on HSMV form 82042. The page lists who may verify the number: a law enforcement officer, a military police officer, a licensed Florida dealer, or a county tax collector employee or a Division of Motorist Services compliance examiner at a service center that offers motor vehicle services.

The initial registration fee on the registrations page is $225 when the owner has no Florida license plate, and no record of a Florida plate, to transfer from a vehicle previously owned in Florida. That initial registration is done in person at a service center at the time of titling, with proof of identity, proof of Florida insurance, and form 82040. The page says some situations need more documents. Weight-based registration tax and other plate fees sit on the department’s license-plate rate chart, which changes with the vehicle. Tag and title service is listed at all four Tax Collector offices above.

A vessel is inside the same 10-day sentence on the new-resident page, along with mobile homes, and it uses the same Florida-insurance requirement. FLHSMV’s St. Johns page lists boats, vessels, and trailers among the motor vehicle services at those centers. Later renewals can go through MyDMV Portal. The first Florida title for an out-of-state vehicle is the in-person step. House and auto quotes belong in the same week. The title packet asks for proof of Florida insurance from an agent licensed to sell insurance in Florida. How homeowners coverage and flood coverage are split is in the insurance note.

Voter registration

The Florida Department of State’s registration page says a person registers if that person is a U.S. citizen, a Florida resident, and at least 18 years old. A 16-year-old may pre-register. The same page excludes a person adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting, unless the right to vote has been restored, and a person convicted of a felony unless voting rights have been restored. The deadline to register for an upcoming election is 29 days before the election. The deadline to change party before a primary is 29 days before that primary. The department’s voter registration FAQ repeats the 29-day registration deadline.

The St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections FAQ gives the local office and the same 29-day party deadline for a primary. It says a person who is already a registered Florida voter has no separate deadline for a name or address change and can make that change at the polls during early voting or on Election Day. New registration for an election still uses the state’s 29-day book-closing date. Register online at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov, which both the state page and the county FAQ name. The county also mails an application on request and lists the public counters that stock the form, including tax collector offices and public libraries.

The office is 4455 Avenue A, Suite 101, St. Augustine, FL 32095, in ZIP 32095. Phone (904) 823-2238. Toll-free (888) 960-2959. The county FAQ says the form uses the address where you live. It names a business address, a former address, and property you own but do not live in as addresses that cannot go on the form. The elected districts follow the residence address. Registering to vote is also one of the FLHSMV acts that can mark Florida residency, so a registration in week one is a date to write next to the license and title clocks.

Homestead exemption

The Property Appraiser’s exemptions page says the statutory deadline to file for homestead and other personal exemptions is March 1. If March 1 falls on a weekend, the deadline is the next business day. The important-dates page lists March 1 as that filing deadline, and it says ownership and residence on January 1 determine eligibility. The 2026 dates page says the 2026 deadline was March 2, because March 1 fell on a weekend, and that an owner may file for the current tax year if the owner owned the property as of January 1 of that year. The homestead FAQ states the statute rule directly: legal or beneficial title, and the home as the primary residence, on or before January 1 of the tax year.

A household that closes and moves in during November 2026 is past the 2026 filing date. A purchase after January 1, 2026 falls outside the January 1, 2026 eligibility date the office prints for that tax year. The next January 1 the office’s rule describes is January 1, 2027. March 1, 2027 falls on a Monday. Under the weekend rule the office prints, that filing date stays March 1. File online once the site shows the new owner. The exemptions page says to allow up to 30 days after closing for the ownership change to post, and it says an annual reapplication is not required after approval unless marital status, ownership, or title changes.

The published requirements include Florida permanent residency, and no residency-based exemption in another state for you or your spouse, with proof. The Florida driver license or identification card has to show the homestead address. Licenses updated after November 1, 2023 may be reissued with a new number under section 322.051(8)(a), Florida Statutes, and the office asks for a copy of the updated card. A Social Security number is mandatory for online filing under section 196.011(1)(b). A person who is not a U.S. citizen files with a permanent resident card. A home in a trust can still qualify when the applicant is the trustee or the trust has the language the office requires for beneficial title. The office’s FAQ says a transfer into an LLC or other business entity is a change of ownership that removes the homestead exemption and the caps.

The homestead page cites section 196.031, Florida Statutes, and publishes a 2026 tax year exemption total of $51,411. The first $25,000 applies to all taxes, including school taxes. The remaining $26,411 applies to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000, excluding school taxes. Save Our Homes limits the yearly increase in assessed value on a homesteaded property to 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. Portability of the assessment difference is capped at $500,000 and must be used within three tax years. The office says portability runs from one Florida homestead to another Florida homestead. The dollar breakdown and the cap are written out in the homestead note. What the November 3, 2026 ballot did to the exemption is in the election note. If March 1 is missed, the office says it can accept a late application for just cause through the end of the TRIM period, which it describes as typically the end of August. The phone number on the homestead page is (904) 827-5500. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Utilities

Electric, water, and sewer providers change with the street. A ZIP code or a village name is the place to start. The account is opened on the address.

JEA’s electric tariff, on the sheet approved by the JEA Board on June 30, 2026, says JEA furnishes retail electric service to the major portion of Duval County, including Atlantic Beach and Baldwin, and also to the Town of Orange Park and to parts of St. Johns and Clay Counties. JEA’s electric systems page says the service area covers most of Duval County and portions of Clay and St. Johns Counties. A JEA electric service-area contact sheet effective June 8, 2026 assigns ZIP 32259 and ZIP 32081 to named service engineers. Those ZIPs are on this site as 32259 and 32081. The sheet assigns engineers by ZIP. The tariff sentence is the one that says JEA’s retail electric service includes parts of St. Johns County. Confirm the meter before you open the account.

Florida Power & Light’s Electric Service Standards assign St. Augustine Construction Services, at 303 Hastings Road, St. Augustine, FL 32084, to St. Johns County south of County Road 210, south of Guana State Park on A1A, plus small portions of northern Flagler County. The same standards assign Palatka Construction Services to a portion of St. Johns County, along with Putnam County and a small portion of Flagler County. St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, and World Golf Village sit in the south-of-CR-210 geography that St. Augustine assignment describes. The standards are a construction-office map. The start of service is still the address on FPL’s account form.

Beaches Energy Services says it provides electric service to customers in Duval and St. Johns counties. Its service-area page bounds that territory by Atlantic Boulevard on the north in Duval County, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Intracoastal Waterway on the west, and County Road 210 in St. Johns County on the south. The page adds a strip south along both sides of State Road A1A for about three miles south of the intersection of A1A and Mickler Road. Ponte Vedra Beach is the community page along the ocean side of that boundary. Vilano and the North Beaches is the next stretch of coast to the south. Confirm the address before opening an electric account. The Beaches Energy page and the FPL standards describe different south lines on A1A. The Beaches Energy lobby address on the page is 11 North 3rd Street, Jacksonville Beach, in the City Hall building.

Water and sewer have their own map. The St. Johns County Utility Department, at 1205 State Road 16, St. Augustine, FL 32084, describes its work as drinking water and wastewater treatment. Customer service is (904) 209-2700, toll-free 1-877-837-2311, and the after-hours emergency line is (904) 209-2745. The office is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The department’s utility-zone layer on the county GIS server maps areas that have public or private potable water or wastewater service. Named polygons on that layer include St. Johns County Utility Department, JEA Service Territory, and City of St. Augustine Utilities, along with other named systems. The department’s maps page and the utility GIS hub take an address.

JEA’s water facilities page is specific about county water. It says customers in St. Johns County are served by the Ponte Vedra Grid, the Ponce de Leon Grid, and the Palm Valley water system. JEA says it owns and operates the Palm Valley distribution system through an interconnection with the St. Johns County Utility Department. The Major Grid table on that page includes Julington Creek Plantation, St. Johns Forest, and St. Johns North. Those names sit in the area covered on the northwest St. Johns page and in ZIP 32259. Nocatee is tied on this site to ZIP 32081 and ZIP 32095. A village name starts the search. The water account follows the street, which may be the county department, JEA, or the city’s utility.

Trash and recycling

The county’s new-resident FAQ says a new resident does not open a separate curbside account. Curbside collection is paid through the Solid Waste Non-Ad Valorem Assessment on the property tax bill. The FAQ says that assessment covers once-a-week garbage, recycling, and yard waste. A second FAQ says FCC Environmental Services is the sole provider for residential curbside collection in St. Johns County starting August 1, 2024. Recycling carts and appliance pickups are requested from the Solid Waste Division at (904) 827-6980 or SolidWaste@sjcfl.us.

The garbage page says the property owner buys the garbage container, and it says FCC Environmental Services does not supply that container. Recycling carts are requested from the Solid Waste number above. Garbage, recycling, and yard debris are separated and set at the curb by 6 a.m. on the collection day. No can or bag may exceed 50 pounds. Garbage, yard waste, and recycling are skipped on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The schedule tool the county names is Recycle Coach, linked from the recycling page. Household hazardous waste and obsolete electronics can go to the Tillman Ridge Transfer Station, 3005 Allen Nease Road, Elkton, FL 32033, or the Stratton Road Transfer Station, 250 North Stratton Road, St. Augustine, FL 32095. Both are open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and closed on those three holidays. The Solid Waste office printed on the garbage page is 2750 Industry Center Road, St. Augustine, FL 32084, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Inside the City of St. Augustine, the city’s Solid Waste Division runs residential trash, recycling, and yard waste on its own schedule. The city page lists trash on Monday north of King Street, and on Tuesday south of King Street and on Anastasia Island. Yard waste is Wednesday. Recycling is Thursday north of King Street, and Friday south of King Street and on Anastasia Island. The city office is 601 Riberia Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084, (904) 825-1049. That schedule is the city’s. The county assessment FAQ is the instruction for the curbside service the county describes. Living in the city is covered on the St. Augustine page.

School enrollment

The district enrollment page says every student registers at the home-zoned school, and that the attendance zone locator identifies the school. The locator linked from the district zoning page, and used on this site, is the 2026-2027 attendance zone locator. The locator uses the street. A village name is the place to start. Street checks for Nocatee are in Nocatee school zones by village. The countywide record is St. Johns County schools. The directory here includes Ketterlinus Elementary, St. Augustine High School, Bartram Trail High School, Allen D. Nease High School, Ponte Vedra High School, and Palm Valley Academy. The full list is the school pages.

Age cutoffs on the enrollment page cite Florida Statute 1003.21. Voluntary prekindergarten is age four on or before September 1. Kindergarten is age five on or before September 1. First grade is age six on or before September 1, plus satisfactory kindergarten in a Florida public school, satisfactory kindergarten in a nonpublic school, or previous attendance in an out-of-state school that admitted the child under that state’s age rule. The district’s registration note for 2026-27 says new families may register now, and it repeats the kindergarten age and the county-residency rule. Student Services on that note is 547-7598.

Documents on the enrollment page are a birth certificate, or another record section 1003.21 allows; guardianship papers when they apply; the Florida Certification of Immunization, form DH 680, under section 1003.22; and a physical or health exam dated within 12 months of the enrollment date. The exam can come from out of state. The enrollment page says a sports physical will not be accepted for a first-time enrollment exam. The exam it describes is a school-entry health exam, and the registration FAQ adds an annual well-child exam. Form DH 3040 is the state’s recommended school-entry form if a family wants that blank. A student enrolling from another state must have the immunization record transferred onto the DH 680. The district says the form comes from a pediatrician or from the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County, 200 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine, FL 32084, (904) 506-6081. The FAQ also names an urgent-care transfer, including Care Spot and a CVS MinuteClinic. The FAQ says the student starts after both the physical and the DH 680 have been submitted. The enrollment page says the health department provides free pediatric immunizations.

Proof of residency is a separate residency page. The student’s current permanent residence in the county sets the zone. For a homeowner, the page asks for one ownership document: a current mortgage statement, a deed, a signed settlement statement for a new purchase, or a homesteaded property-tax statement. It says a sales contract or a builder contract is not accepted as that ownership document. It also asks for one current utility bill. An activation notice can stand in for new service when it shows the name, the address, and the start date. A third document comes from the page’s remaining list, such as another utility bill, a bank statement, or a driver license that shows the enrolling address. If the license address differs from the enrolling address, the page asks for photo identification plus one extra item from that list. Renters and families sharing a house use the lists printed for those cases on the same page. Current students update residency documents before kindergarten, sixth grade, and ninth grade.

The Florida Department of Education file this site cites as 2025-26 District Grades as of September 1, 2026, DistrictGrades26.xlsx, is the source for the district grade of A published on the school pages. Each school page carries that campus’s letter from the department’s school-grades file, with the same style of citation. GreatSchools publishes a district page. Niche publishes ratings at Niche, and U.S. News publishes ratings at U.S. News. The letter grade named in this paragraph is the state district grade.

Hurricane preparation

The county evacuation page maps zones A through F. Zone A is the most low-lying land along the coast and the river. Zones B, C, D, and E step inland as the ground rises and the coast gets farther away. Zone F is an area along the St. Johns River that the county marks as vulnerable to flooding. Orders go out by zone. The page says the category of a storm is not always the best indicator of how much surge a storm may produce, and it lists elevation, isolation, and storm-surge vulnerability as what the zones measure. The National Hurricane Center’s Saffir-Simpson page says the scale rates maximum sustained wind, and that hurricanes in every category can produce deadly storm surge, rainfall flooding, and tornadoes. Look up the house on the county My Evacuation Zone tool. The tool says that during an evacuation order, mobile home residents evacuate regardless of zone. The state address search is Know Your Zone at FloridaDisaster.org. A flood-insurance map is a separate lookup at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Season dates, surge, and the difference between a beach street and an inland street are in the hurricane and flood note.

The evacuation page also prints routes by area. Palm Valley and Nocatee are directed southwest on County Road 210 toward I-95 or points west. Ponte Vedra Beach and Sawgrass are directed north on State Road A1A, then west on Butler Boulevard toward I-95. St. Augustine Beach is directed north to State Road 312, across the 312 bridge to State Road 207, then toward I-95. Those three are examples from a longer list that includes downtown St. Augustine, Anastasia Island, Crescent Beach, and State Road 13 along the river. Emergency Management points residents to Alert St. Johns for notices during an emergency. Read the route for the actual street on the county page before a storm.

Declaration of domicile

Florida Statute 222.17 lets a person who has established a domicile in Florida record that fact with a sworn statement filed in the office of the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the person resides. The statement says the person resides in and maintains a place of abode in that county and intends to maintain it as a permanent home. A person who also keeps a place of abode in another state can file a statement that the Florida home is the predominant and principal home. The statement is signed under oath before an official authorized to take affidavits. The clerk records it and collects the service charge provided in section 28.24, Florida Statutes. The statute sets the contents of the statement and the place of filing. The filing can be made once domicile exists.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller prints the local fees on the recording page. If the clerk’s office prepares the affidavit, the preparation fee is $5.00, in addition to the recording fee of $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page. Notary service on that page is $10.00 per document. The recording division phone is (904) 819-3600, and the email printed there is Recording@stjohnsclerk.com. Mail goes to 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, FL 32084. In-person recording, with no appointment, is at the Public Service Center, 4040 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, FL 32084, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Julington Creek annex at 725 Flora Branch Boulevard and the Ponte Vedra annex at 151 Sawgrass Corners Drive also list full recording services. Those annexes require an appointment, and the posted hours are shorter. The recording page says the clerk’s office cannot give legal advice on how to prepare the document.

Pets

St. Johns County Ordinance 2017-36, section 12, requires every dog, cat, and ferret four months of age or older to be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian, using a vaccine licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for that species. The owner pays for the vaccine. The animal is revaccinated 12 months after the initial vaccination. After that, the interval follows the vaccine manufacturer’s directions. The ordinance says a failure or refusal to vaccinate is a violation of the ordinance and of section 828.30, Florida Statutes. A licensed veterinarian may certify in writing that vaccination would endanger the animal because of age, infirmity, disability, illness, or another medical reason. The animal is vaccinated when its health permits. Animal Control is at 130 North Stratton Road, St. Augustine, FL 32095. The division phone is (904) 209-0746. The Pet Center phone on the same page is (904) 209-6190.

A doctor, then the house

Call a practice in the same month as the license and the utility start. The healthcare note covers care in the county, Jacksonville hospital systems, and Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus, and it says to ask whether the office is taking new patients and which campus you would use. Plan networks differ. The pre-move list, including flood, insurance, school zoning, and homestead timing before closing, is on the relocation notes. Named planned-unit records are in the PUD directory.

Homes for sale across St. Johns County are listed on ancientcitystays.com with Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty. The license office, the homestead filing, the school zone, the evacuation zone, and the utility account still use the street on the deed. Offices, fees, and maps in this note were read on November 12, 2026. Use the linked page again for the address you bought, because a fee schedule or a zone line can change after that date.