KEY TAKEAWAYS
- VA rates acquired flat feet (pes planus) under diagnostic code 5276, from 0% up to 50% when both feet are pronounced.
- Plantar fasciitis has had its own code, DC 5269, since February 7, 2021: 10%, 20%, 30%, or 40% with loss of use of the foot.
- Both codes give one rating that covers both feet when both are affected, with a higher number for bilateral than unilateral.
- Flat feet noted at your entrance exam can still be service connected if service made them worse; VA rates only the increase.
- Foot problems often lead to knee, hip and back claims as secondary conditions.
- VA Rating for Flat Feet (DC 5276)
- VA Rating for Plantar Fasciitis (DC 5269)
- Other VA Foot Rating Codes
- One Foot or Both: How Bilateral Ratings Work
- Flat Feet Noted at Your Entrance Exam
- Secondary Conditions From Flat Feet and Plantar Fasciitis
- What the Examiner Looks for at a Foot C&P Exam
- Getting Orthotics and Foot Care Through VA
- How Much VA Pays for Flat Feet and Plantar Fasciitis
- How to File a Flat Feet or Plantar Fasciitis Claim
- Frequently Asked Questions
Flat feet and plantar fasciitis are among the most common conditions veterans claim. Years of running in boots, rucking and standing on concrete take a toll, and many service members leave with feet that hurt every day. The rating rules changed in 2021, and the question of what happens when your flat feet were noted at MEPS trips up a lot of claims. This guide covers the 2026 rating criteria for both conditions, how VA handles a pre-existing condition, secondary claims and what the examiner looks for.
VA Rating for Flat Feet (DC 5276)
VA rates acquired flatfoot under diagnostic code 5276 in the musculoskeletal rating schedule, 38 CFR 4.71a. The levels describe how severe the deformity and symptoms are, and pay a higher rating when both feet are affected. Pay is the 2026 rate for a veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025.
| Severity | Both feet | One foot |
|---|---|---|
| Pronounced | 50% ($1,132.90) | 30% ($552.47) |
| Severe | 30% ($552.47) | 20% ($356.66) |
| Moderate | 10% ($180.42) | 10% ($180.42) |
| Mild | 0% | 0% |
What Each Level Means
- Mild (0%): symptoms are relieved by a built-up shoe or an arch support.
- Moderate (10%): the weight-bearing line falls over or inside the big toe, the Achilles tendon bows inward, and the feet hurt on manipulation and use. One foot or both, the rating is the same.
- Severe (20% one foot, 30% both): objective evidence of marked deformity, such as pronation or abduction, pain on manipulation and use that gets worse with activity, signs of swelling on use, and characteristic calluses.
- Pronounced (30% one foot, 50% both): marked pronation, extreme tenderness on the soles of the feet, marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the Achilles tendon on manipulation, not improved by orthopedic shoes or appliances.
You don’t need every symptom listed to get a level. VA rates on the description that best matches your feet overall. The phrase that decides many claims is the one at the top and bottom of the scale: whether shoes and inserts help. If arch supports relieve your symptoms, VA tends to rate 0%; if they don’t improve things at all and the other signs are present, that points toward the pronounced level.
The schedule covers acquired flatfoot, the kind that develops or worsens over time. Flat feet you were born with can still be claimed, especially if service made them worse, which the section on pre-existing flat feet below explains.
VA Rating for Plantar Fasciitis (DC 5269)
Before 2021, plantar fasciitis had no code of its own. VA rated it by analogy, usually under the flatfoot code or the general foot injury code, which produced uneven results. A final rule published November 30, 2020, and effective February 7, 2021, gave it a dedicated code, DC 5269:
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 40% | Actual loss of use of the foot |
| 30% | No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, both feet |
| 20% | No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, one foot |
| 10% | Otherwise, one foot or both |
In plain terms, most veterans with plantar fasciitis are rated 10%. That covers anyone with a diagnosis who is still getting some relief from stretching, inserts, injections, physical therapy or other treatment, whether one foot is affected or both.
The higher levels need two things: you’ve tried both non-surgical treatment and surgery, and neither helped. There’s an important exception in Note 2. If a doctor recommended surgery but you aren’t a surgical candidate, for example because of another health condition, VA rates you under the 20% or 30% criteria anyway. You don’t have to have an operation you can’t safely have.
If your claim was decided before February 7, 2021, it was rated under the old approach. If your symptoms haven’t improved, a claim for an increase will be rated under the current code.
Can You Be Rated for Flat Feet and Plantar Fasciitis?
Many veterans have both. VA’s rule against “pyramiding” means it can’t rate the same symptoms twice under two codes. Whether you get two ratings depends on whether the conditions cause distinct symptoms: heel pain and stabbing pain on the first steps of the morning from plantar fasciitis, for example, versus arch collapse, pronation and Achilles problems from flat feet. Ask your examiner to describe each condition’s symptoms separately so the rating decision can tell them apart.
Other VA Foot Rating Codes
Foot claims often include more than one problem. These are the other codes in the foot section of the schedule:
| Code | Condition | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 5277 | Weak foot, both feet | Rate the underlying condition; minimum 10% |
| 5278 | Acquired claw foot (pes cavus) | 0% to 50% (both feet) or 30% (one foot) |
| 5279 | Metatarsalgia (Morton’s disease) | 10%, one foot or both |
| 5280 | Hallux valgus (bunion), one foot | 10% if operated with resection of the metatarsal head, or severe enough to equal loss of the big toe |
| 5281 | Hallux rigidus, one foot, severe | Rated as severe hallux valgus (10%) |
| 5282 | Hammer toe | 10% for all toes of one foot without claw foot; 0% for single toes |
| 5283 | Malunion or nonunion of tarsal or metatarsal bones | 10%, 20% or 30%; 40% with loss of use |
| 5284 | Other foot injuries | 10%, 20% or 30%; 40% with loss of use |
One Foot or Both: How Bilateral Ratings Work
Both DC 5276 and DC 5269 build both feet into a single rating. Severe flat feet in both feet is one 30% rating, not two 20% ratings. That’s why the bilateral numbers in the tables are higher than the one-foot numbers, but less than double.
The bilateral factor is a separate rule that adds a little to your combined rating when you have compensable disabilities affecting both legs. VA’s own regulation uses a foot as its example: a compensable condition of the right thigh and flat feet affecting the left foot count as disabilities of both legs. If you have a service-connected knee on one side and a foot condition on the other, check that your decision applied the bilateral factor.
Flat Feet Noted at Your Entrance Exam
Flat feet are often written down at MEPS. Many veterans assume that ends the claim. It doesn’t, but it changes the question VA asks.
If Your Flat Feet Weren’t Noted
VA presumes you were in sound condition when you entered service, except for conditions recorded on your entrance exam. If your entrance exam doesn’t list flat feet, VA can only find they existed before service with clear and unmistakable evidence that they did and that service didn’t make them worse. That’s a high bar, so the claim is treated like any other: a current diagnosis, an in-service event or symptoms, and a link between them.
If Your Flat Feet Were Noted
If your entrance exam recorded flat feet, the claim becomes one of aggravation under 38 CFR 3.306. A pre-existing condition is considered aggravated by service when it got worse during service, unless VA specifically finds the increase was due to the natural progress of the condition. For wartime and post-1946 peacetime service, VA needs clear and unmistakable evidence to rebut that presumption once the record shows the condition worsened.
The evidence that matters is the difference between your feet at entry and later. An entrance note of “asymptomatic pes planus” followed by sick call visits for foot pain, profiles, issued inserts or a diagnosis of severe flat feet at separation is the kind of record that supports aggravation.
When VA grants an aggravation claim, it rates only the increase. It subtracts the level of disability you had at entry, measured on the rating schedule, from your current level. If your feet were mild (0%) at entry and are now severe in both feet (30%), the rating is 30%. If the entry level can’t be measured in rating terms, VA makes no deduction.
Secondary Conditions From Flat Feet and Plantar Fasciitis
Feet that don’t absorb shock or that make you walk differently can strain the joints above them. If a service-connected foot condition caused or worsened another condition, that condition can be service connected as secondary. Our VA secondary conditions guide explains how to build these claims. The most common ones:
- Knee pain from altered gait and overpronation. Our guide to the VA rating for knee pain explains how knees are rated.
- Hip pain from the same changes in how you walk.
- Lower back pain. See our VA rating for lower back pain, which explains how the spine is rated.
- Nerve pain. Some veterans develop sciatica or other nerve symptoms alongside back problems; our sciatica VA rating guide covers that code.
- Achilles tendon problems and ankle conditions.
Each secondary claim needs a medical opinion explaining the link. A doctor who says your knee pain is “at least as likely as not” caused or made worse by your service-connected flat feet, and explains why, gives VA what it needs. If pain affects you in several places, our guide to the VA rating for chronic pain explains how VA handles it.
What the Examiner Looks for at a Foot C&P Exam
Expect the examiner to look at your feet standing and sitting, press on the arches and heels, move the feet and ankles, watch you walk and look at your shoes. Our VA C&P exam guide covers how to prepare for any exam. For feet, they are checking for the specific signs in the rating criteria:
Want updates when benefit rates change?
Join thousands of service members who get our free weekly briefing.
By subscribing you agree to receive email from USMilitary.org and Military.net. Unsubscribe anytime. We don't sell your email address or give it to anyone for their marketing. Privacy Policy.
- Pronation and the weight-bearing line in relation to the big toe
- Tenderness on the soles and heels, and pain when the feet are manipulated
- Inward bowing or spasm of the Achilles tendon
- Swelling on use and characteristic calluses
- Whether orthotics, shoes or other treatment relieve your symptoms
- For plantar fasciitis, what treatment you’ve had, including surgery, and whether it helped
A few things help the exam reflect how your feet actually are:
- Bring your inserts and shoes, and say honestly how much they help. “They help a little on good days but I still can’t stand for more than an hour” is more useful than “yes, I wear them.”
- Describe your worst days, not just today. Tell the examiner how often flare-ups happen, how long they last and what you can’t do during one. VA has to consider additional loss of function during flare-ups and after repeated use.
- List every treatment you’ve tried: stretching, physical therapy, injections, night splints, custom orthotics, surgery, and whether a surgeon said you aren’t a candidate.
- Mention other joints. If your knees, hips or back hurt, say so; it may support a secondary claim later.
Getting Orthotics and Foot Care Through VA
Enrolled veterans can get custom shoe inserts, orthotic devices and in some cases orthopedic shoes through VA’s Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service, usually after a podiatry or rehabilitation consult. Local rules vary, so ask your VA primary care team for a podiatry referral. Treatment for a service-connected condition is free once you’re enrolled; our VA health care enrollment guide explains how to sign up. Your VA treatment records also become evidence for your claim.
How Much VA Pays for Flat Feet and Plantar Fasciitis
For 2026, a veteran with no dependents rated 10% receives $180.42 a month, 20% pays $356.66, 30% pays $552.47 and 50% pays $1,132.90. Foot ratings are usually combined with others using VA’s combined ratings table rather than added. For example, 30% for bilateral severe flat feet and 10% for a secondary back condition combine to 37%, which rounds to 40% and pays $795.84 for a veteran alone. Our VA disability ratings guide explains how combining works, and the VA disability compensation calculator shows your total with dependents.
How to File a Flat Feet or Plantar Fasciitis Claim
- Submit an intent to file. VA Form 21-0966 or the online version holds a potential start date while you gather evidence. You then have one year to file the claim.
- Get your records. Request your service treatment records, including your entrance exam, and gather civilian and VA podiatry records.
- File the claim. Apply online at VA.gov or with VA Form 21-526EZ; VA’s how to file page lists every option. Claim each condition by name, and say whether you’re claiming aggravation of flat feet noted at entry.
- Add a medical opinion for any secondary condition such as your knees or back.
- Attend the C&P exam with your inserts, shoes and treatment history.
If you’re already rated and your feet have gotten worse, or you’ve had surgery that didn’t help, file for an increase. Our VA disability rating increase guide walks through it.
RELATED READING
VA Rating for Lower Back Pain →
How VA rates the spine, the most common secondary claim from foot problems.
VA Health Care Enrollment Guide →
Enroll to get podiatry care, custom orthotics and inserts through VA.
How VA combines ratings and applies the bilateral factor.
Frequently Asked Questions
VA rates acquired flat feet under diagnostic code 5276. Mild flat feet relieved by arch supports are 0%. Moderate flat feet are 10% for one or both feet. Severe flat feet are 20% for one foot or 30% for both, and pronounced flat feet are 30% for one foot or 50% for both.
Since February 7, 2021, plantar fasciitis has its own code, DC 5269. Most veterans are rated 10%. It is 20% for one foot or 30% for both when neither non-surgical treatment nor surgery has helped, and 40% with actual loss of use of the foot. If surgery was recommended but you aren’t a surgical candidate, VA rates under the 20% or 30% criteria.
Yes, if service made them worse. When flat feet are noted at entrance, the claim is one of aggravation. VA presumes a condition that worsened during service was aggravated by it unless clear and unmistakable evidence shows the increase was natural progress. VA then rates only the increase over your level at entry.
Possibly. VA can’t rate the same symptoms twice, but flat feet and plantar fasciitis can cause different symptoms. If the examiner describes distinct symptoms for each, such as heel pain from plantar fasciitis and arch collapse and Achilles problems from flat feet, VA can assign separate ratings.
For 20% or 30%, the criteria require that both non-surgical and surgical treatment failed to give relief. The exception is when a doctor recommended surgery but you are not a surgical candidate; then VA evaluates you under the 20% or 30% criteria without the surgery.
They can be claimed as secondary conditions. If a doctor explains that your service-connected flat feet or plantar fasciitis caused or worsened knee, hip or back problems, VA can service connect those conditions and rate them separately.
For 2026, a veteran with no dependents receives $180.42 a month at 10%, $356.66 at 20%, $552.47 at 30% and $1,132.90 at 50%. Your actual payment depends on your combined rating with any other conditions and on your dependents.
This article is provided by USMilitary.org, an independent educational resource. We are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency, and this is not medical or legal advice. Rating criteria and payment rates come from 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4 and VA.gov as of October 2026; confirm your situation with VA or an accredited veterans service officer before you file.
