The exam form
The examiner fills out VA's "Hip and Thigh Conditions" form (a Disability Benefits Questionnaire, or DBQ). See the form on VA.gov
Form version checked: Updated on 2024-08-05 (v24_1).
What the exam is for
The exam records your hip or thigh diagnosis and how much it limits you: how far you can move your hip, where pain starts, flare-ups, thigh bone problems, and any hip replacement.
What the examiner will ask and measure
- Your diagnosis for each hip, and how the problem started and changed.
- 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.
- Range of motion with a measuring tool: bending your hip forward (flexion), moving your leg back (extension), out to the side (abduction) and in toward the other leg (adduction), and turning it out and in (rotation). The examiner notes where pain starts. VA asks examiners to test your other hip too.
- Crossing your legs: whether limited inward motion keeps you from crossing your legs. The form asks this at each step, including for flare-ups.
- Repeated motion (at least three times), and estimates of how far you could move during a flare-up or after repeated use over time.
- Muscle loss around the hip or thigh, measured with a tape.
- A fixed hip (ankylosis): whether your hip is stuck in one position, and how bad that position is.
- Thigh bone (femur) problems: a break that didn't heal or healed badly, a very loose hip joint (flail hip), or one leg longer than the other. If your legs differ in length, the examiner measures each one.
- Surgeries, such as a hip replacement or resurfacing, and what's left afterward.
- Devices you use to get around, such as a wheelchair, brace, crutches, cane or walker, and how often.
- Imaging, and how your hip affects work tasks like standing, walking, lifting and sitting.
Be ready to describe
- When and how the hip problem started in service.
- Whether you can cross your legs, climb stairs, or get in and out of a car.
- Flare-ups and your worst days.
- Any crutches, cane, brace or walker, and how often you use it.
- Surgeries, such as a replacement, their dates, and what still bothers you since.
- How long you can sit, stand or walk, and how your hip affects work and chores.
Common mistakes
- Pushing past pain during the motion test, or stopping short of what you can do. Move as far as you normally can, and say when pain starts.
- Not mentioning that you can't cross your legs. The form asks, and the rules count it.
- Leaving out flare-ups because today is a good day.
- Not mentioning crutches, a cane or a brace you use.
How VA rates it
VA rates a hip mostly on how far you can move it, measured in degrees, counting where pain limits you. Separate rules cover a hip that's fixed in place (ankylosis), a thigh bone break, and a hip replacement or resurfacing. VA changed its rules for hip replacement and for thigh bone problems in February 2021.
In plain English
- Bending your hip forward (flexion): 10% if bending is limited to 45 degrees; 20% limited to 30 degrees; 30% limited to 20 degrees; 40% limited to 10 degrees.
- Moving your leg back (extension): 10% if it's limited to 5 degrees.
- Other hip motion: 10% if you can't cross your legs (limited adduction); 10% if you can't turn your toes out more than 15 degrees on that leg (limited rotation); 20% if you've lost motion beyond 10 degrees when you move your leg out to the side (abduction).
- Hip fixed in place (ankylosis): 60% if it's fixed in a favorable position, bent forward between 20 and 40 degrees, with your leg turned slightly in or out (slight adduction or abduction); 70% if it's in between (intermediate); 90% if it's fixed in an unfavorable or extremely unfavorable position, your foot doesn't reach the ground, and you need crutches.
- Thigh bone (femur) break that didn't heal (nonunion): 60% for a break of the surgical neck with a false joint (the broken ends didn't heal together and move like a joint); 60% for a break of the shaft or anatomical neck that didn't heal and doesn't move loosely, where you can bear weight with the help of a brace; 80% for a break of the shaft or the anatomical neck that didn't heal and moves loosely (a spiral or oblique fracture).
- Thigh bone that healed badly (malunion): VA rates it under the knee rules or the hip rules, whichever gives the highest rating.
- Hip replacement or resurfacing: 100% for 4 months after the surgery. These 4 months start after a 1-month total rating that follows your hospital stay.
- After the 4 months, for a replacement of the ball at the top of the thigh bone (head of the femur) or the hip socket (acetabulum): 30% is the minimum, for a total replacement only; 50% for moderately severe weakness, pain or limited motion left over; 70% for markedly severe weakness, pain or limited motion left over; 90% for painful motion or weakness bad enough that you need crutches.
- After the 4 months, for resurfacing: VA rates it under the hip and thigh codes 5250 through 5255. Resurfacing has no minimum rating.
- Once VA rates a hip replacement or resurfacing, it can't also rate that hip under its other bone and joint rules, unless the rules say otherwise. A second surgery (revision) is rated like the first only if all the original parts were replaced.
- These levels are the same for your right and left hip. 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 |
|---|
| 5252 Thigh, limitation of flexion of: | |
| Flexion limited to 10° | 40 |
| Flexion limited to 20° | 30 |
| Flexion limited to 30° | 20 |
| Flexion limited to 45° | 10 |
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5251: Thigh, limitation of extension of Open in the Rating Criteria Lookup
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 5251 Thigh, limitation of extension of: | |
| Extension limited to 5° | 10 |
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 5253 Thigh, impairment of: | |
| Limitation of abduction of, motion lost beyond 10° | 20 |
| Limitation of adduction of, cannot cross legs | 10 |
| Limitation of rotation of, cannot toe-out more than 15°, affected leg | 10 |
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 5250 Hip, ankylosis of: | |
| Unfavorable, extremely unfavorable ankylosis, the foot not reaching ground, crutches necessitated | 3 90 |
| Intermediate | 70 |
| Favorable, in flexion at an angle between 20° and 40°, and slight adduction or abduction | 60 |
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 5255 Femur, impairment of: | |
| Fracture of shaft or anatomical neck of: | |
| With nonunion, with loose motion (spiral or oblique fracture) | 80 |
| With nonunion, without loose motion, weight bearing preserved with aid of brace | 60 |
| Fracture of surgical neck of, with false joint | 60 |
| Malunion of: | |
| Evaluate under diagnostic codes 5256, 5257, 5260, or 5261 for the knee, or 5250-5254 for the hip, whichever results in the highest evaluation. | |
38 CFR 4.71a, diagnostic code 5054: Hip, resurfacing or replacement (prosthesis) Open in the Rating Criteria Lookup
| Criteria | Major | Minor |
|---|
| 5054 Hip, resurfacing or replacement (prosthesis): | | |
| For 4 months following implantation of prosthesis or resurfacing | | 100 |
| Prosthetic replacement of the head of the femur or of the acetabulum: | | |
| Following implantation of prosthesis with painful motion or weakness such as to require the use of crutches | | 1 90 |
| Markedly severe residual weakness, pain or limitation of motion following implantation of prosthesis | | 70 |
| Moderately severe residuals of weakness, pain or limitation of motion | | 50 |
| Minimum evaluation, total replacement only | | 30 |
| Note: At the conclusion of the 100 percent evaluation period, evaluate resurfacing under diagnostic codes 5250 through 5255; there is no minimum evaluation for resurfacing. | | |
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.
