Rating Criteria by Level
Under 38 CFR 4.71a, DC 5276, flatfoot is graded on four descriptive tiers: mild, moderate, severe, and pronounced. The rating turns on objective findings such as the weight-bearing line, Achilles tendon alignment, callosities, and whether orthopedic appliances relieve the symptoms. Range of motion, which drives most other joint codes, is not the measure here.
Criteria: Mild flatfoot with symptoms that are relieved by a built-up shoe or arch support. One or both feet.
A 0% rating is non-compensable, meaning no monthly payment, but the condition is still service-connected. That status protects your right to claim an increase later without re-proving service connection, and it lets you file secondary claims for knee, hip, or back problems that develop from an altered gait.
Criteria: Weight-bearing line over or medial to the great toe, inward bowing of the Achilles tendon, and pain on manipulation and use of the feet. Rated 10% whether one foot or both are involved.
The moderate level is the first compensable step and the most frequently assigned flat feet rating. Note that bilateral involvement does not raise the percentage here: one foot and two feet both evaluate at 10%. Examiners look for the weight-bearing line falling over or inside the great toe, which is documented on a standing exam rather than a seated one.
Criteria: Objective evidence of marked deformity (pronation, abduction, and similar findings), pain on manipulation and use that is accentuated, indication of swelling on use, and characteristic callosities. One foot.
Severe flatfoot requires objective findings, not just reported pain. The four markers the rater looks for are marked deformity, accentuated pain, swelling with use, and characteristic callosities. Photographs of callus patterns and a podiatry note describing pronation and abduction carry significant weight at this level.
Criteria: Severe flatfoot as described above affecting both feet, or pronounced flatfoot (marked pronation, extreme tenderness of the plantar surfaces, marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the Achilles tendon on manipulation, not improved by orthopedic shoes or appliances) affecting one foot.
Two different fact patterns land at 30%. Most veterans reach it through severe bilateral flatfoot, since foot deformities from service are usually symmetric. The pronounced unilateral path is less common and requires evidence that orthopedic shoes or appliances failed to improve the condition.
Most common higher-level award: severe flatfoot in both feet
Criteria: Pronounced flatfoot in both feet: marked pronation, extreme tenderness of the plantar surfaces, marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the Achilles tendon on manipulation, and no improvement from orthopedic shoes or appliances.
This is the maximum schedular rating under DC 5276. The controlling phrase is "not improved by orthopedic shoes or appliances," so a documented history of failed orthotics, custom inserts, and bracing is what separates 50% from 30%. Veterans at this level often also carry separate ratings for the knees, hips, and lumbar spine caused by years of abnormal gait.
How to Service-Connect Flat Feet
Service connection requires a current diagnosis, an in-service event or injury, and a medical nexus linking them. Flat feet are unusual because many veterans entered service with some degree of arch collapse, which changes the legal path. Three routes apply:
Direct Service Connection
Flat feet developed during service and appear in your service treatment records: sick call visits for foot pain, a podiatry consult, issued arch supports, or a profile limiting running and marching. Nothing was noted on your entrance exam, so the presumption of soundness applies and the VA must treat the condition as having begun in service.
Aggravation of a Pre-Existing Condition
Pes planus noted at entrance is presumed pre-existing. You still qualify if service permanently worsened it beyond natural progression. Ruck marches, load-bearing duty, and years in combat boots are the standard aggravating factors. Compare your entrance exam findings with your separation exam and any later imaging to show the change.
Secondary to Another Rated Condition
Flatfoot can develop secondary to an already service-connected injury that altered how you bear weight, such as a knee or hip condition, or a lower-extremity nerve problem like peripheral neuropathy that weakened the muscles supporting the arch.
What Happens at Your C&P Exam
The VA will schedule a compensation and pension exam using the foot conditions DBQ. For flat feet, the examiner will typically:
- Observe your feet while standing and bearing weight, not only while seated
- Locate the weight-bearing line relative to the great toe on each foot
- Check the Achilles tendon for inward bowing, displacement, and spasm on manipulation
- Look for characteristic callosities, swelling on use, pronation, and abduction
- Ask whether arch supports, custom orthotics, or orthopedic shoes relieve your symptoms
- Note pain on manipulation and use, and whether that pain is accentuated
- Record functional loss on repeated use and during flare-ups
Answer the orthotics question precisely. The difference between 30% and 50% is whether your symptoms are improved by orthopedic shoes or appliances, so if inserts help only briefly or not at all, say exactly that. Bring weight-bearing X-rays, your podiatry records, worn-out orthotics, and shoes that show your wear pattern.
Secondary Conditions to Flat Feet
Collapsed arches change the entire kinetic chain from the foot upward. Once flat feet are service-connected, conditions they caused or aggravated can be claimed as secondary, and each carries its own rating that combines with your existing total.
Plantar FasciitisRated separately under DC 5269 at 10% to 30%. Arch collapse increases tension along the plantar fascia, making this the most common flat feet secondary.
Achilles TendonitisInward displacement of the Achilles tendon is part of the flatfoot deformity itself. Chronic tendonitis is rated by analogy at 10% to 20%.
Knee ConditionsOverpronation rotates the tibia inward and stresses the patellofemoral joint. See the knee rating guide for how flexion limits and instability are evaluated.
Hip and Lumbar Spine PainAltered gait shifts load to the hips and lower back. Both are rated on range of motion and can add substantially to a combined rating.
Hallux Valgus (Bunions)Pronation drives the great toe outward. Rated 10% under DC 5280 if there has been surgical resection or if the deformity is severe enough to equate to amputation of the great toe.
RadiculopathyLumbar changes from a long-term gait abnormality can produce nerve symptoms down the leg, rated separately on the sciatic or femoral nerve codes.
Related guides: knee ratings, hip ratings, back and lumbar spine ratings, and radiculopathy ratings.
SourcesLast reviewed: August 2026
Flat Feet VA Rating FAQ
What is the VA rating for flat feet?
The VA rates acquired flatfoot (pes planus) under DC 5276 at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50%. Mild flatfoot relieved by arch supports is 0%. Moderate is 10% whether one or both feet are affected. Severe is 20% for one foot and 30% for both. Pronounced is 30% for one foot and 50% for both.
What is the highest VA rating for flat feet?
The maximum schedular rating under DC 5276 is 50%, paying $1,132.90 per month in 2026 for a veteran alone. It requires pronounced bilateral flatfoot with marked pronation, extreme plantar tenderness, severe Achilles tendon spasm on manipulation, and no improvement from orthopedic shoes or appliances.
Can you get VA disability if you had flat feet before joining the military?
Yes, through aggravation. If flat feet were noted on your entrance exam, the VA presumes the condition pre-existed service. You can still be compensated if military service permanently worsened it beyond its natural progression. Marching, running in boots, and load-bearing duty are the usual aggravating factors cited.
Does the VA rate each foot separately for flat feet?
No. DC 5276 assigns one rating that already accounts for unilateral versus bilateral involvement. Because the bilateral case is built into the code, the bilateral factor under 38 CFR 4.26 does not add anything on top of a DC 5276 rating by itself.
Is plantar fasciitis rated separately from flat feet?
Yes. Plantar fasciitis has its own code, DC 5269, added in the 2021 musculoskeletal revision, rated 10% to 30%. It can be rated alongside flat feet as long as the symptoms evaluated are not the same ones already compensated under DC 5276.
What evidence do I need for a flat feet VA claim?
Weight-bearing imaging showing arch collapse, records of orthotics or custom shoe inserts, documentation of callosities and swelling on use, and a lay statement about pain and standing tolerance. If flat feet were noted at entrance, a medical opinion on aggravation during service is essential.
Can flat feet cause a knee or back rating?
Yes. Collapsed arches change gait mechanics and load the knees, hips, and lumbar spine. A nexus opinion linking your service-connected flat feet to knee, hip, or back pathology supports a secondary claim, and each secondary condition carries its own rating that combines with the flat feet rating.
Will surgery or orthotics lower my flat feet rating?
It can. VA ratings reflect current severity, so if reconstructive surgery or successful orthotics produce sustained improvement documented at a re-examination, the rating can be reduced. Ratings held at the same level for 20 years or more are protected from reduction except in cases of fraud.