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Feet (flat feet, heel pain)

Feet: flat feet and plantar fasciitis

What it is

Flat feet (pes planus) means your arches have fallen; plantar fasciitis is pain in the thick band under your foot, worst at the heel. VA rates these by symptoms and whether treatment helps, not by a goniometer.

VA's code numbers for this: 5276, 5269, 5284, 5279, 5280

What the examiner will do

  • The examiner looks at your feet standing and sitting, checks the arch and the line of weight, and presses and moves the foot to see if it hurts.
  • They check the heel cord (Achilles), swelling, calluses, and how you walk.
  • They ask what treatments you tried, and whether orthotics or shoes help.
  • They ask about flare-ups and how long you can stand and walk.

The examiner fills out a form called a DBQ. You can read it ahead of time: Foot Conditions Including Flatfoot (Pes Planus) DBQ (updated 2024-09-03) (opens VA's site).

The rating levels, in plain words

VA rates most joints by how far they move. The less you can move, the higher the level.

Flat feet: mild

  • 0%

    Symptoms go away with a built-up shoe or arch support: 0%.

    Rule: 38 CFR 4.71a, DC 5276

Flat feet: moderate

  • 10%

    Weight falls over or inside the big toe, the heel cord bows inward, pain when the foot is handled or used (one or both feet): 10%.

    Rule: 38 CFR 4.71a, DC 5276

Flat feet: severe, one foot

  • 20%

    Marked deformity (foot rolls in, points out), pain worse with handling and use, swelling with use, typical calluses: 20% one foot / 30% both feet.

    Rule: 38 CFR 4.71a, DC 5276

Flat feet: pronounced, one foot

  • 30%

    Marked rolling in, extreme tenderness on the bottom, heel cord pulled in and in severe spasm when handled, NOT improved by orthopedic shoes or devices: 30% one foot / 50% both feet.

    Rule: 38 CFR 4.71a, DC 5276

Plantar fasciitis

  • 10%

    Plantar fasciitis in one or both feet that does not meet the higher levels: 10%.

    Rule: 38 CFR 4.71a, DC 5269

  • 20%

    No relief from BOTH non-surgical AND surgical treatment, one foot: 20%.

    Rule: 38 CFR 4.71a, DC 5269

  • 30%

    No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, both feet: 30%. If surgery was recommended but you are not a surgical candidate, VA uses the 20%/30% level. Actual loss of use of the foot: 40%.

    Rule: 38 CFR 4.71a, DC 5269, Notes (1)-(2)

Measure it at home

With a helper and a cheap tool. Your home numbers help you describe your bad days honestly at the exam.

The tool to get

  • No goniometer needed.

  • A notebook or phone notes for a symptom and treatment log.

  • Your shoes and inserts (bring them to the exam).

Step by step, with a helper

  1. 1. Treatment log

    How to stand or lie
    At home, over several weeks.
    Where the tool goes
    List every treatment and whether it helped: arch supports, custom orthotics, special shoes, stretching, night splints, shots, physical therapy, surgery, and any surgery recommendation.
    Who holds what
    Spouse helps remember dates and what helped or did not.

  2. 2. Swelling and calluses

    How to stand or lie
    End of a long day on your feet.
    Where the tool goes
    Take a dated photo of any swelling and calluses on the bottom of the feet.
    Who holds what
    Spouse takes the photos.

  3. 3. Standing and walking limits

    How to stand or lie
    Normal day and bad day.
    Where the tool goes
    Write how many minutes you can stand and walk before you must stop, and first-step pain in the morning.
    Who holds what
    Spouse notes what they see (limping, sitting down often).

Stop at the first real pain. Never force a joint to get a number. Stand close for balance during back and hip tests.

Your log: what to write each time

  1. Date
  2. Foot (R/L/both)
  3. Morning first-step pain 0-10
  4. Minutes standing before stopping
  5. Minutes walking before stopping
  6. Swelling?
  7. Treatment used today
  8. Did it help?
  9. Notes

Tap Print this page to get a blank log sheet and your exam-day checklist on paper.

This is only to help you understand. The VA examiner measures and the VA decides.

Exam-day checklist

Tick each one off. Nothing you tick is saved or sent anywhere.

Tell the examiner

Flare-ups

A flare-up is a time when your joint gets much worse for a while. The examiner must ask about your flare-ups and estimate, in degrees, how much motion you lose during them, even if your exam is on a good day (Sharp v. Shulkin, 2017). They can only skip this if they explain why after getting your information. Be ready to say: how often (for example, 2 times a week), how long each lasts (for example, 1 to 2 days), what triggers it, and exactly what you cannot do (for example, 'I can't lift my arm to comb my hair'). If you measured at home on a flare-up day, show that number.

Repeated use

Feet are not tested with 3 repetitions of a motion the way joints are, but the form asks how standing and walking over time and flare-ups limit you. Describe it in minutes and in what you stop doing.

Honest exam rules

  • Move each joint until pain starts. Say 'pain starts here' out loud. Stop when pain or stiffness stops you. Do not push through sharp pain to look tough. Do not stop before pain or stiffness really stops you, either. The examiner writes down both points.
  • Give your real, full effort on strength tests. The goal is an exam that shows how you truly are.
  • Describe a typical day AND your worst days. Bad days count, but say they are bad days and how often they happen.
  • Take your medicine the way you normally do. Do not skip it, and do not take extra just for the exam. Tell the examiner what you took and when, and how you are when it wears off. (Court decisions Jones v. Shinseki (2012) and Ingram v. Collins (2025) say VA should not lower a joint rating because medicine helps, when the rating rules do not mention medicine. VA tried to change this by rule in February 2026 and took the change back on February 27, 2026.)
  • Wear or bring any brace, cane, crutches, or walker you normally use. Bring the prescription or a record showing a provider ordered it.
  • Bring a one-page list: your diagnoses, surgeries, treatments tried, medicines, how often you have flare-ups, your home measurement log, and what you can no longer do at work and at home.
  • If you do not know or do not remember, say so. Do not guess.
  • Fraud warning: knowingly giving VA false information is a federal crime (18 U.S.C. 1001) and can cost you all VA benefits (38 U.S.C. 6103). Honest, complete reporting is all you need.

Common mistakes

  • Saying orthotics 'help' when they help only a little. The lowest flat-foot level (0%) is for symptoms RELIEVED by supports. Say exactly how much they help.

    Where this comes from: 38 CFR 4.71a DC 5276

  • Not mentioning a surgery recommendation for plantar fasciitis. If surgery was recommended but you are not a candidate, VA uses the 20% or 30% level.

    Where this comes from: 38 CFR 4.71a DC 5269, Note (2)

  • Not asking VA to consider painful motion for the foot. The painful-motion rule can apply even to codes that are not based on range of motion.

    Where this comes from: 38 CFR 4.59; Southall-Norman v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 346 (2016)

  • Not describing flare-ups and bad days.

    Where this comes from: Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017); Foot DBQ

Questions to ask together

A spouse, grown child or friend can read these out loud. Talk about each one before the exam, so nothing gets left out.

  1. When you get out of bed, how bad is the first step?
  2. How long can you stand at the stove or a store line before you need to sit?
  3. Do your feet swell by the end of the day?
  4. Do your inserts or special shoes make the pain go away, help a little, or not help?
  5. Has a doctor ever said you need foot surgery?

Sources

Checked against VA's rules on October 30, 2026.

Helping The Brave doesn't file or prepare claims. This guide is free education, not medical or legal advice. The VA examiner measures and VA decides your rating.