Rating criteria · 38 CFR §4.71a
Plantar Fasciitis: VA Rating Criteria
The exact rating criteria below are quoted from the Code of Federal Regulations as currently in force, not paraphrased. Compensation amounts come from the current VA rate tables.
By Mario Bailey, U.S. Air Force veteran · current Air National Guard member. Data updated 2026-07-24.
Plain-language guide
What this rating actually turns on
Plantar fasciitis is rated on your treatment history: the tiers climb as conservative care and then surgery fail to give relief, not on any range-of-motion number. Its own diagnostic code, DC 5269 in 38 CFR 4.71a, did not exist before February 7, 2021, when VA rewrote the musculoskeletal schedule (85 FR 76453); before then plantar fasciitis was rated by analogy, usually under pes planus (DC 5276) or foot injuries (DC 5284). The current levels are:
- 10 percent: a diagnosed case, unilateral or bilateral (the “otherwise” tier).
- 20 percent: no relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, unilateral.
- 30 percent: no relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, bilateral.
- Note (1): with actual loss of use of the foot, rate 40 percent.
- Note (2): if a veteran has been recommended for surgery but is not a surgical candidate, evaluate under the 20 or 30 percent criteria, whichever applies.
What separates 10 percent from 20 or 30 is a documented treatment history: the higher tiers require that you tried and failed conservative care and surgery. The 10 percent floor is for a diagnosed, treated case. Note (2) is the escape hatch: if surgery was recommended but you medically cannot have it, you are evaluated at the 20 or 30 percent level without having gone through the operation. Bilateral versus unilateral is built into the code, so, like pes planus, one diagnostic code covers both feet and you do not get a separate rating for each. Pain on use still matters through 38 CFR 4.59 and the functional-loss rules, but on this code the tiers move on treatment failure, not on degrees.
A worked example
Consider a veteran with plantar fasciitis in the right foot only. Over eighteen months she works the full conservative ladder: prefabricated then custom orthotics, night splints, physical therapy, and two corticosteroid injections, and the heel pain persists. A podiatrist recommends a plantar fascia release, but because her diabetes is poorly controlled and her wound-healing risk is high, she is documented as not a surgical candidate. She has never had the operation, so at first glance she looks like the 10 percent “otherwise” tier. Note (2) changes that: a veteran who was recommended for surgery but is not a surgical candidate is evaluated under the 20 or 30 percent criteria anyway. Unilateral, that is 20 percent, without her ever going under the knife. See the pay table on this page for the amount.
What the C&P exam measures
The examiner completes the Foot Conditions, Including Flatfoot (Pes Planus) DBQ, which covers plantar fasciitis. It records the treatment history: conservative measures tried (orthotics, stretching, physical therapy, night splints, injections) and their result, surgical history and its outcome, and whether surgery was recommended and whether you are a surgical candidate, along with functional loss and pain on use. That treatment record, not a range-of-motion number, is what determines the tier.
What to have in your file
Per VA’s evidence requirements: service treatment records, and podiatry or orthopedic notes documenting the full ladder of failed treatment, this is what moves a claim from 10 to 20 or 30 percent, plus any surgical recommendation and either its outcome or the documented reason you are not a candidate (which triggers Note (2)). Lay statements (VA Form 21-10210) describing pain, what treatments you tried, and what you can no longer do support the exam findings.
Common mistakes
- Expecting 20 or 30 percent without a documented surgical trial or a Note (2) situation. The middle tiers require failed surgery, or a surgery recommendation you medically cannot act on; conservative care alone holds you at 10 percent.
- Not documenting failed conservative care. If the record does not show that orthotics, therapy, and injections were tried and failed, the higher tiers are hard to reach even after surgery.
- Assuming a pre-2021 analogous rating updates itself. If you were rated by analogy before the code existed, ask for re-evaluation under DC 5269; the criteria run from the effective date, not retroactively.
- Expecting two ratings for two feet. Bilateral is a level within the one code.
Worth knowing
Note (1) pegs actual loss of use of the foot at 40 percent, which is also the practical ceiling the amputation rule (38 CFR 4.68) enforces on foot-level disability. When a plantar fasciitis rating combines with a separate leg or ankle rating, the bilateral factor (38 CFR 4.26) applies to the combination and adds 10 percent of the combined value; the calculator on this site handles that.
Rating criteria from the CFR
| Rating criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, bilateral | |
| No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, unilateral | |
| Otherwise, unilateral or bilateral |
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
SOURCE: eCFR, 38 CFR Part 4 (issue date 2026-07-13, current through 2026-07-24) · retrieved 2026-07-28
Monthly compensation at each rating level
Veteran-alone amounts, effective 2025-12-01. Dependents increase these amounts at 30% and above, use the combined rating calculator for your exact situation, especially if this isn't your only rated condition.
| Rating | Monthly (veteran alone) |
|---|---|
| $552.47 | |
| $356.66 | |
| $180.42 |
SOURCE: VA compensation rate tables, va.gov · retrieved 2026-07-28 · effective 2025-12-01
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest VA rating for plantar fasciitis?
Under 38 CFR §4.71a, the highest schedular rating for plantar fasciitis is 30%, which pays $552.47 a month for a veteran with no dependents on the current rate tables (effective 2025-12-01). Reaching it means the exam and records actually meet the 30% criteria quoted above, the diagnosis by itself does not set the rating.
What rating levels are possible for plantar fasciitis?
VA can assign 10%, 20% or 30%, depending on the severity your evidence documents. Every one of those steps has its own test in 38 CFR §4.71a, quoted in full on this page, so two veterans with the same diagnosis can land at very different levels based on what the exam and records show.
If your rating came back lower than this
A decision that ignores the criteria above is a frequent reason veterans are underpaid. Line your decision up against the levels on this page. If the evidence supports a higher level than VA assigned, you have three ways to challenge it, and the right one depends on why it went wrong:
- Something was missing from the record (an exam finding, a prescription, a flare-up statement, a nexus letter): add it with a Supplemental Claim.
- The evidence was already there and VA misread it: ask for a Higher-Level Review by a more senior rater, with no new evidence needed.
- A legal or judgment error: take it to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
Line your decision up against the criteria on this page. Which review lane fits depends on why the rating is wrong: new evidence that was missing, a misread of evidence already in the file, or a legal error. All three are laid out in the decision reviews and appeals guide.
Before you file, recombine this rating with your others (VA math does not add ratings), check how long each lane is taking right now, and remember a VA-accredited representative or VSO will help you for free. You can also browse every other condition's criteria to make sure you are claiming everything you are owed.