C&P Exam Prep

Acquired Flat Feet (Pes Planus)

For a Soldier or veteran with a pending flat-feet claim. Here is what the exam evaluates, what the rating scale actually says, and where a rating decision can go next if it disappoints you.

← Back to vsgsolutions.org Read 38 CFR 4.71a yourself
Why I built this page. I don't promise you a rating. Nobody honestly can, before the exam happens. What I can do is lay out the whole regulation, not just the top tier of it, and the exam form VA actually uses, not a shortened version of it. I bring the truth, simple and to the point. I have nothing left in this world than my word.

DC 5276

DC 5276Pronounced, both feet50%Pronounced, one foot30%Severe, both feet30%Severe, one foot20%Moderate, one or both feet10%Mild, relieved by a built-up…0%
Pronounced, both feet: 50%; Pronounced, one foot: 30%; Severe, both feet: 30%; Severe, one foot: 20%; Moderate, one or both feet: 10%; Mild, relieved by a built-up shoe or arch support: 0%.38 CFR 4.71a — Schedule of ratings, musculoskeletal system (govinfo) · Page reviewed September 2026.
The rating scale

What DC 5276 pays

Diagnostic Code 5276 rates acquired flatfoot — flat feet that developed after birth, not flat feet you were born with. The full ladder:

  • Pronounced, both feet — 50%
  • Pronounced, one foot — 30%
  • Severe, both feet — 30%
  • Severe, one foot — 20%
  • Moderate, one or both feet — 10%
  • Mild, relieved by a built-up shoe or arch support — 0%
50% is the highest this code pays. If your flat feet cost you more than that, the way up is not a higher number on DC 5276 — it runs through separate ratings for other conditions, loss of use of the foot, or Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). Ask your VSO about those, don't wait for this code to move.
If you were born with flat feet, or had them before you joined, this code still may not cover you on a direct-service-connection theory — under 38 CFR 4.57, congenital flatfoot with no abnormal callosities, pressure spots, strain, or tenderness is not compensable by itself. Your claim is almost always an aggravation claim instead — the service made an existing condition worse. Say so when you file.
★ Know the whole ladder before you read your exam result.
Read this first

The 50% findings — you do not need all of them

At the top tier, VA looks for findings like these:

  • Marked pronation — your feet roll inward significantly
  • Extreme tenderness on the bottom of both feet
  • Marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the Achilles tendon when the examiner moves it
  • Not improved by orthopedic shoes or appliances — that word covers custom orthotics, arch supports, built-up shoes, braces, and other devices a doctor prescribed, not just shoe inserts
You do not have to show every finding on this list. 38 CFR 4.21 says VA does not expect every case to show every finding listed for a rating. The Board of Veterans' Appeals has said the same about this exact code, more than once: the criteria are not written as an "and" list. Under 38 CFR 4.7, if your case comes closer to the higher level than the lower one, VA assigns the higher rating. Don't rule yourself out because one box wasn't checked.
★ Missing one finding does not mean you lose the tier.
Don't stop here

Flat feet rarely travel alone

  • Plantar fasciitis has its own code, DC 5269 — separate from flat feet and payable in addition to it. If you have heel or arch pain that's its own problem, ask that it be evaluated too.
  • Secondary conditions — knee, hip, ankle, or low-back problems caused or made worse by how flat feet changed the way you walk can be claimed separately. See the section below.
  • Under 38 CFR 4.59, "it is the intention to recognize actually painful, unstable, or malaligned joints... as entitled to at least the minimum compensable rating" — 10% under this code — even short of a higher tier.
  • Under 38 CFR 4.40 and 4.45, VA must consider how your feet act up on your worst days, not just how they look the day of the exam. Tell the examiner about your bad days, not an average one.
★ One exam, more than one condition worth claiming.
Secondary conditions

Conditions that can follow flat feet

When your arches collapse, the way you walk changes and other parts of the leg and foot take extra load. Conditions veterans commonly claim as secondary to flat feet include:

  • Ankle, knee, hip, and low-back problems (see above)
  • Achilles tendinitis
  • Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome)
  • Metatarsalgia (pain in the ball of the foot)
  • Hammer toes or claw toes
  • Morton's neuroma
  • Walking or balance problems that raise your risk of falling
None of these is automatic. Under 38 CFR 3.310(a), a disability that is "proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury shall be service connected." Under 3.310(b), a non-service-connected condition that a service-connected one makes worse (beyond its natural progress) is also service connected for the increase. So you need (1) a current diagnosis, (2) flat feet already service connected, and (3) evidence linking the two — a doctor's written opinion is the strongest kind. Each secondary condition is then rated on its own code, not on the flat-feet code.

How a few of them are rated (38 CFR 4.71a):

  • Metatarsalgia / Morton's disease, DC 5279 — 10%, one foot or both. The Board has rated Morton's neuroma under this code.
  • Hammer toe, DC 5282 — 10% when all toes on one foot are affected (without claw foot); 0% for a single toe.
  • Claw foot (pes cavus), DC 5278 — from 0% (slight) up to 50% (marked, both feet).
  • Plantar fasciitis, DC 5269 — 10%; 20% for one foot with no relief from non-surgical and surgical treatment; 30% for both feet.
  • Tendinitis (such as Achilles), DC 5024 — rated on how much motion you lose in the affected joint. One Board decision gave 20% for marked ankle motion loss; that is one veteran's case, not a promise.
  • Shin splints and other unlisted conditions — VA may rate by analogy to a closely related listed condition (38 CFR 4.20).
Knee, hip, ankle, and back ratings depend on measured motion and other findings, so no single percentage applies. Ask for the exam of each condition, and get the exam report afterward.
★ One collapsed arch, several conditions worth putting on the record.
The exam itself

What the exam covers

The exam runs off VA's own Foot Conditions Disability Benefits Questionnaire. It asks about, and the examiner checks for:

  • Pain on use and pain when the examiner manipulates your foot
  • Swelling after use
  • Calluses in characteristic spots
  • How much your arch flattens when you stand on it
  • Visible deformity of the foot
  • How marked the inward roll (pronation) is
  • Where your weight-bearing line falls compared to your big toe
  • Bowing or displacement of the Achilles tendon, and spasm when it's moved
  • Whether arch supports or built-up shoes help
Two questions worth thinking through beforehand — how long you can stand, how far you can walk — are not on the official form. They're still useful for describing your limits in your own words. Use your own real numbers. Don't repeat a figure you read somewhere else that isn't true for you.
★ Know the form before you're sitting across from it.
How to prepare

Before and after the exam

  • Bring your medical records — diagnosis, treatment history (orthotics, medication, physical therapy), and anything showing calluses, swelling, or tenderness
  • Be ready to describe how flat feet affect your work and daily life, including your worst days
  • After the exam, request a copy of the exam report and the DBQ the examiner filled out. It's the only way to catch a wrong box checked, and your basis to challenge an incomplete exam
Describing symptoms you do not actually have is fraud. It can cost you the benefit, create a debt you owe back, and expose you to prosecution. Answer honestly, with your own facts, every time.
★ Honest and specific beats rehearsed, every time.
If the rating disappoints you

The door stays open

  • Higher-Level Review — a senior reviewer looks again, no new evidence needed. File within 1 year of the decision.
  • Supplemental Claim — add new evidence. VA's own Supplemental Claim page states there is no deadline to file this one.
  • Board Appeal — file within 1 year of the decision (60 days only applies to contested claims, which a flat-feet claim usually is not).
  • None of this costs you anything to start. Ask about an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) — free help exists.
★ A low rating is a door, not a wall.
Where to call

Where to call and where to go

★ Free help is one call away.

Sources

Related: Foot VA Ratings: Flatfoot, Claw Foot, Amputation and the Exam · VA Therapeutic Footwear and Orthotics · Preparing For Your C&P Exam · Secondary Conditions — Claiming What Your Rated Condition Caused