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Florida · Nature Coast · North Central Florida
Levy County, Florida
Florida's Nature Coast cedar and clam county — from Cedar Key's historic island art community and the country's largest softshell clam aquaculture operation to Manatee Springs State Park's crystal-clear spring run, the Waccasassa Bay wilderness, and a quiet rural county that preserves the pre-development character of Florida's Nature Coast. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Levy County residents.
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Office: Levy County Emergency Management – (352) 486-5213 | levycounty.org
Alert System: Florida FDEM; CodeRED; NOAA Weather Radio
Shelter Info: Chiefland school facilities; Bronson school facilities; contact OEM
FEMA Region: Region 4
Notes: North-central Florida Gulf Coast and inland county; Bronson is county seat; hurricane risk (Gulf Coast exposure – Idalia 2023 passed through the county; Hermine 2016; significant Gulf storm surge vulnerability on the Big Bend coast); flooding (Suwannee River; Withlacoochee River; coastal marshes); severe thunderstorms; wildfire risk; Crystal River accessible; Cedar Key (historic fishing village on the Gulf); very rural
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
County Roads: Levy County Roads – (352) 486-5213
Transit: Very limited; primarily auto-dependent
Notes: US-19/98 (the coastal highway north-south through Chiefland and connecting to Crystal River south and the Suwannee north); SR-24 (west to Cedar Key from US-19 – the road through the coastal marshes to Cedar Key is one of Florida’s most beautiful coastal approaches); US-129 (east to Gainesville); Chiefland is about 35 miles from Gainesville; Cedar Key is about 50 miles from Gainesville; Levy County is the most accessible Nature Coast county for Gainesville residents
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Levy County Planning and Development Services – (352) 486-5236
Services: County permits; Chiefland, Bronson, Williston, Fanning Springs, Inglis, Yankeetown, Cedar Key separate
Notes: Limited development; Cedar Key tourism development (careful given the island’s historic character and NWSR designation); Chiefland agricultural and residential; limited overall development; nature-based tourism infrastructure growing
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Levy County Veterans Services – (352) 486-5213
VA Medical: Malcom Randall VAMC (Gainesville – about 35 miles east; very accessible)
Services: Benefits claims; Gainesville VA excellent access; solid VA connection for Levy County veterans
Notes: Gainesville VAMC is the closest VA hospital to Levy County – good accessibility via US-129; small rural veteran population
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Levy County Libraries – (352) 486-5213 | nls.lib.fl.us; Cedar Key Historical Society Museum supplements
Branches: Chiefland, Cedar Key, Williston, Inglis, Bronson
Services: Books, public computers, Wi-Fi, children’s programs; Cedar Key history; Suwannee River heritage; Big Bend scalloping heritage; pencil cedar heritage (Cedar Key’s historic pencil cedar harvesting and manufacturing – the town was a major pencil manufacturer in the 19th century before the cedar was exhausted)
Notes: Cedar Key’s extraordinary history (pencil cedar manufacturing; Florida Railroad western terminus in the 1860s; the near-complete destruction by the 1896 hurricane; the oyster and clam farming revival) is documented in the Historical Society Museum
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Federal: Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge (Cedar Key – a cluster of offshore islands protecting colonial waterbird nesting; significant sea bird colonies; completely wild islands accessible only by boat); Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (the Suwannee River delta – one of the largest undeveloped river deltas on the US Gulf Coast; extraordinary coastal marsh; wildlife drive accessible without a boat; excellent birding)
State Parks: Fanning Springs State Park (Fanning Springs – crystal-clear spring with excellent swimming; the Suwannee River access); Manatee Springs State Park (Chiefland – one of Florida’s finest spring parks; crystal-clear first-magnitude spring; excellent swimming; scuba diving in the cavern; manatees concentrate here in winter; canoeing the spring run to the Suwannee River; one of the finest cold water springs in the state)
Regional: Cedar Key (one of Florida’s most historically significant and charming small coastal towns; the Gulf of Mexico’s western access from Gainesville; Cedar Key was the western terminus of the first cross-Florida railroad (David Yulee’s Florida Railroad – 1861); the town has a distinctive island community character that feels like Old Florida; the clam aquaculture industry (Cedar Key is one of the most significant hard clam farming areas in the Southeast – the Cedar Key clam is famous in Florida restaurants); the Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve – excellent Florida scrub habitat on the mainland; Big Bend Scalloping (Cedar Key is a primary access point for the Big Bend scalloping grounds – the sea grass beds offshore provide excellent bay scallop habitat in summer)); Suwannee River (excellent paddling; the lower Suwannee is one of Florida’s finest paddling rivers)
Notes: Cedar Key is one of Florida’s most historically significant and least-changed small towns – its island setting (accessible via a causeway), its preserved Victorian and early 20th century architecture, its working clam farming industry, and its Big Bend character create an authentic Florida Gulf Coast fishing village experience that is increasingly rare; Manatee Springs is extraordinary – the first-magnitude spring (72°F, extremely clear) with its boardwalk through cypress swamp and the winter manatee congregation creates an outstanding state park experience; the Lower Suwannee NWR’s Suwannee River delta (one of the largest on the Gulf Coast) is a pristine coastal ecosystem
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Levy County GIS; Florida DEP; SRWMD Suwannee River and spring maps; USFWS Cedar Keys NWR and Lower Suwannee NWR maps; Big Bend sea grass mapping
Notes: County GIS; Suwannee River watershed and spring monitoring; Cedar Key and surrounding sea grass bed mapping; Big Bend scallop population monitoring maps; Lower Suwannee NWR wildlife management maps
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Shelter: Levy County Animal Services – (352) 486-5213
Notes: Rural coastal county; cattle; manatees in Manatee Springs and Suwannee River system (winter congregation at the spring is significant); sea turtles on Gulf beaches; dolphins; gopher tortoises; black bears; wading birds; scallops and clams (managed through FWC and aquaculture regulations)
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Solid Waste: Levy County – (352) 486-5213; transfer stations; limited
Environmental: Florida DEP; Suwannee River Water Management District; USFWS (Cedar Keys NWR; Lower Suwannee NWR); springs protection; Cedar Key clam aquaculture water quality management
Key Issues: Springs protection (Manatee Springs and the other Suwannee River springs are threatened by nitrogen from the agricultural recharge zone; the springs’ crystal clarity is their defining quality; maintaining low nitrogen is critical); scallop population management (the Bay scallop populations in the Big Bend sea grass beds require careful management – scalloping seasons are set by FWC based on population surveys; the populations have declined in some years due to sea grass quality; monitoring is continuous); Cedar Key clam aquaculture water quality (the Cedar Key clam farming industry (hard clams grown in cages in Waccasassa Bay and the surrounding waters) depends on excellent water quality; red tide events and bacterial contamination close harvesting; monitoring and maintaining water quality is critical for the industry)
Notes: Levy County’s natural assets – Manatee Springs, Cedar Key, the Lower Suwannee delta, the Big Bend sea grass beds – are extraordinary for a county of its small size and budget; the Cedar Key hard clam industry (one of the most successful shellfish aquaculture programs in Florida) has provided economic diversification for a fishing community that lost its traditional fisheries to over-harvesting and regulation; the clam farmers’ environmental interest in water quality creates a natural alliance between commercial fishing and conservation; Manatee Springs’ winter manatee congregation (manatees swimming in the crystal-clear first-magnitude spring water while visitors watch from the boardwalk) is one of Florida’s most accessible and extraordinary wildlife experiences
About Levy County
Levy County’s Cedar Key is the Florida that most of the state has lost – a small Gulf island community of clam aquaculture, artist studios, independent seafood restaurants, and pelicans roosting on the dock pilings, without a traffic light or a chain hotel on the island proper. The annual Cedar Key Seafood Festival and the summer clam season reflect a working waterfront culture that the Gulf’s development pressure has largely bypassed due to the island’s relative isolation and the community’s deliberate choices about what it wants to be.
Levy County’s interior is the Florida scrub and flatwoods terrain of the Nature Coast – cattle, timber, and the small agricultural communities of Williston, Chiefland, and Bronson. Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park near the county border demonstrates the dramatic sinkhole terrain of north-central Florida’s limestone karst. The Suwannee River provides fishing and recreation access.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Florida assesses property at just value. The homestead exemption reduces assessed value by $50,000. The Save Our Homes cap limits annual homestead increases to 3%. Florida has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Levy County Clerk of Circuit Court (Probate): 355 South Court Street, Bronson, FL 32621 | (352) 486-5266.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS (Records, Marriage Licenses)
355 S. Court St., Bronson, FL 32621
(352) 486-5266
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Levy County Clerk of Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Levy County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Levy County Clerk of Court, Probate Division 355 S. Court Street, Bronson, FL 32621 (352) 486-5266 / (352) 486-4311 Levy County sits in Florida’s 8th Judicial Circuit.
The current 1937 Classical Revival courthouse is Levy County’s fourth purpose-built courthouse – some material salvaged from the previous 1906 building was reused in its construction.
IMPORTANT – a major statewide law change just took effect: Florida’s summary administration threshold DOUBLED from $75,000 to $150,000 effective July 1, 2026, under CS/HB 1337 (Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida). Confirm which threshold applies based on date of death when helping someone (see
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
9150 NE 80th Ave., Bronson, FL 32621
(352) 486-5111
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
355 S. Court St., Bronson, FL 32621
(352) 486-5163
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
FL Dept of Health — Levy
220 NW 4th St., Chiefland, FL 32626
(352) 486-5300
FL DCF — Levy
(352) 493-0440
FL Medicaid
(800) 299-4833
Nature Coast Regional Hospital
naturecoastregional.com (Chiefland)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Florida DOH in Levy County – (352) 486-5080 | levy.floridahealth.gov
Services: Immunizations, WIC, STI testing, environmental health, vital records; behavioral health; Suwannee River spring health monitoring
Hospital: Shands Chiefland Regional Medical Center (UF Health); Nature Coast Regional Hospital (Chiefland); Gainesville hospitals for specialty care
Notes: Small regional hospital; Gainesville’s UF Health accessible; behavioral health in rural coastal community; natural disaster health preparedness; scalloping season health (Cedar Key’s scalloping season requires monitoring for red tide and water quality)
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