The exam form
The examiner fills out VA's "Foot Conditions, Including Flatfoot (Pes Planus)" form (a Disability Benefits Questionnaire, or DBQ). See the form on VA.gov
Form version checked: Updated on 2024-09-03 (v24_2).
What the exam is for
The exam records your foot diagnosis and how it limits you: pain when you stand and walk, swelling, flare-ups, and how well shoes, inserts and other treatment work.
What the examiner will ask and measure
- Your diagnosis for each foot, and how it started and changed. Examples are flat feet (pes planus), plantar fasciitis, a bunion (hallux valgus) or a foot injury.
- Pain in your own words, and flare-ups: how often, how long, what sets them off, what helps, and what you can't do.
- Functional loss in your own words, including after repeated use over time.
- Flat feet signs: pain when you use your feet and when the examiner moves them (manipulation). The examiner also looks for swelling on use, calluses and tender soles. They check your arch when you stand, whether your foot rolls inward (pronation), and the position of your heel and Achilles tendon.
- Shoes and inserts: whether arch supports or built-up shoes fully relieve your symptoms, or you still have symptoms. The form also asks if orthopedic shoes or appliances help.
- Plantar fasciitis treatment: whether you've had non-surgical or surgical treatment, and whether it worked. The form also asks if surgery was recommended but you couldn't have it.
- Big toe problems: for a bunion or a stiff big toe (hallux rigidus), how severe your symptoms are. The form asks if the toe works no better than if it had been removed (amputated). It also asks about bunion surgery.
- Other conditions: hammer toes, claw foot (pes cavus), foot bones that healed badly or didn't heal, and other foot injuries. The examiner notes how severe they are and whether they keep you from bearing weight normally.
- Pain checks instead of degrees: the form says motion in degrees doesn't need to be measured. The examiner checks for pain when your foot moves, when you stand on it, when you're off it, and at rest. VA asks examiners to check your other foot too, even if you didn't claim it.
- Surgeries and what's left afterward, and any devices you use and how often.
- Imaging, and how your feet affect work tasks like standing, walking, lifting and sitting. The form says X-rays aren't required to diagnose flat feet.
Be ready to describe
- When and how your foot problem started in service.
- How long you can stand or walk before pain makes you stop, and how your feet feel at the end of the day.
- Swelling, calluses and flare-ups.
- Every arch support, insert, built-up shoe or orthopedic shoe you've tried, and how much each one helped. Bring the ones you use.
- Treatment for plantar fasciitis, with dates, and whether it helped. Say if a provider recommended surgery but said you couldn't have it.
- How your feet affect work, chores and getting around.
Common mistakes
- Saying shoes or inserts help without saying how much. The form asks whether they relieve your symptoms completely or you still have symptoms. Be accurate and complete.
- Leaving out treatment you tried for plantar fasciitis because it didn't work.
- Describing only one foot when both are affected.
- Leaving out flare-ups or how your feet feel after a long day on them.
How VA rates it
VA rates flat feet on what the examiner finds, such as pain on use, swelling, calluses and deformity, and on whether shoes or arch supports help. Plantar fasciitis is rated on whether treatment brought relief and whether one or both feet are affected. Other foot injuries are rated on how severe they are. VA added a rule for plantar fasciitis in February 2021. Claw foot (pes cavus), hammer toes and other foot conditions have their own codes in the Rating Criteria Lookup.
In plain English
- Flat feet (acquired flatfoot), mild: 0% if a built-up shoe or arch support relieves your symptoms.
- Flat feet, moderate: 10% for one or both feet. This means your weight-bearing line falls over or inside (medial to) your big toe, your Achilles tendon bows inward, and you have pain when the examiner moves your feet and when you use them.
- Flat feet, severe: 20% for one foot, 30% for both feet. This means signs the examiner can see (objective evidence) of marked deformity, such as rolling in of the foot (pronation) or the foot turning out (abduction); increased (accentuated) pain when the examiner moves the foot and when you use it; signs of swelling on use; and the calluses typical of flat feet.
- Flat feet, pronounced: 30% for one foot, 50% for both feet. This means marked pronation, extreme tenderness of the soles, and the Achilles tendon pushed markedly inward with severe spasm when the examiner moves the foot, not improved by orthopedic shoes or appliances.
- Plantar fasciitis: 10% for one or both feet, unless the higher levels apply; 20% for one foot, or 30% for both feet, if you got no relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment. If surgery was recommended but you're not a candidate for it, VA uses the 20% or 30% level, whichever fits. With actual loss of use of the foot, it's 40%.
- Other foot injuries: 10% moderate; 20% moderately severe; 30% severe. With actual loss of use of the foot, it's 40%.
- Bunion (hallux valgus), for one foot: 10% if you had surgery that removed the head of the bone at the base of the big toe (resection of the metatarsal head), or if it's so severe that it's like losing the big toe (equal to amputation of the great toe).
- These levels are the same for your right and left foot. VA's rules for the legs have no dominant side.
The regulation, word for word
Quoted from 38 CFR Part 4 (current as of October 16, 2026). This is what VA applies. The plain-English version above is our summary of it.
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 5276 Flatfoot, acquired: | |
| Pronounced; marked pronation, extreme tenderness of plantar surfaces of the feet, marked inward displacement and severe spasm of the tendo achillis on manipulation, not improved by orthopedic shoes or appliances | |
| Bilateral | 50 |
| Unilateral | 30 |
| Severe; objective evidence of marked deformity (pronation, abduction, etc.), pain on manipulation and use accentuated, indication of swelling on use, characteristic callosities: | |
| Bilateral | 30 |
| Unilateral | 20 |
| Moderate; weight-bearing line over or medial to great toe, inward bowing of the tendo achillis, pain on manipulation and use of the feet, bilateral or unilateral | 10 |
| Mild; symptoms relieved by built-up shoe or arch support | 0 |
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 5269 Plantar fasciitis: | |
| No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, bilateral | 30 |
| No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, unilateral | 20 |
| Otherwise, unilateral or bilateral | 10 |
| Note (1): With actual loss of use of the foot, rate 40 percent | |
| Note (2): If a veteran has been recommended for surgical intervention, but is not a surgical candidate, evaluate under the 20 percent or 30 percent criteria, whichever is applicable | |
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 5284 Foot injuries, other: | |
| Severe | 30 |
| Moderately severe | 20 |
| Moderate | 10 |
| Note: With actual loss of use of the foot, rate 40 percent. | |
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 5280 Hallux valgus, unilateral: | |
| Operated with resection of metatarsal head | 10 |
| Severe, if equivalent to amputation of great toe | 10 |
Related
About every C&P exam
What is it?
After you file a claim, VA may ask you to have a claim exam, also called a compensation and pension (C&P) exam. It helps VA decide whether your condition is connected to your service, and how severe it is. It isn't treatment: the examiner won't treat you, prescribe medicine or refer you to anyone.
Who does it?
A VA provider or a provider from one of VA's exam contractors (Loyal Source, OptumServe, QTC or VES). VA picks; you can't choose. Hearing, mental health, eye and dental exams are done by specialists. For a reproductive, breast, rectal or mental health exam, or a claim related to military sexual trauma, you can ask for a male or female examiner.
How long does it take?
VA says anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or more, depending on what you claimed. Some exams are by phone or video. If you claimed more than one condition, VA tries to schedule them on the same day.
Does the examiner decide my claim?
No. The examiner writes a report on a standard form (a Disability Benefits Questionnaire, or DBQ) and sends it to VA. VA decides your claim using all the evidence: the report, your medical and service records, and statements from you and others. The examiner can't tell you the results or answer questions about your claim.
Does everyone get one?
No. If your records already have what VA needs, VA can decide from the records alone (VA calls this Acceptable Clinical Evidence, or ACE).
What if I can't make it?
Call the number on your appointment letter at least 48 hours ahead to reschedule. Missing an exam delays your claim. VA may decide your claim on the evidence it already has, and some claims, such as a claim for an increase, are denied (38 CFR 3.655). If you had a good reason, such as being in the hospital or a death in your family, tell VA and ask for a new exam.
What should I bring?
VA says you don't need to bring anything. Send any new medical records to VA before the exam, because the examiner can't send them in for you. Arrive 15 minutes early and wear clothes you can move in. Many veterans find it helps to bring a short list of their symptoms, medicines and side effects, and key dates, so nothing is forgotten.
Can someone come with me?
You can ask the examiner. They may ask family members or caregivers to wait outside. For a sensitive physical exam, you can ask for a chaperone in the room.
Can I get a copy of the report?
Yes. Ask VA with a Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act request (VA Form 20-10206). VetEZ Claim can help you fill it out and send it.
Can my own doctor fill out the form instead?
For many conditions, yes. VA publishes the exam forms (DBQs) your own doctor can fill out and you can send in. VA doesn't pay for this. A few exam forms are for VA's own examiners.
Checked against VA's forms and rules on October 20, 2026. General information only, not medical or legal advice about your claim. VA decides every claim.
