Musculoskeletal system
VA rating for limited motion of the ankle, diagnostic code 5271
Two adjectives used to carry this code and neither was defined. Since 7 February 2021 the schedule gives moderate and marked a measurement in degrees each, and limited motion of the ankle is rated under diagnostic code 5271 at 10 or 20 percent on that basis.
Published 2026-08-21. Last updated 2026-08-24. Written and reviewed under Veteran Health Network's institutional review process.
What each level requires
limited motion of the ankle is rated under diagnostic code 5271, which the schedule calls "Ankle, limited motion of", at 38 CFR 4.71a.
20 percent requires
In plain English
Marked limitation, which the schedule now defines rather than leaving to judgment: less than 5 degrees of dorsiflexion or less than 10 degrees of plantar flexion.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Marked (less than 5 degrees dorsiflexion or less than 10 degrees plantar flexion)
10 percent requires
In plain English
Moderate limitation, defined as less than 15 degrees of dorsiflexion or less than 30 degrees of plantar flexion.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Moderate (less than 15 degrees dorsiflexion or less than 30 degrees plantar flexion)
Regulation text reproduced from 38 CFR 4.71a, read on 2026-08-21. Read the section at the eCFR. Part 4 is amended on a rolling schedule, so the date above is the date this text was checked and not the date it was written.
The 2021 amendment put numbers behind the adjectives
Derived from the regulation
For most of its history this code asked an examiner for a judgment. It now asks for a measurement.
Appendix A to Part 4 dates the change and records nothing else about it: "Criterion February 7, 2021."
Separately, underneath the section, is the Federal Register line for 4.71a: 29 FR 6718, May 22, 1964, as amended at 34 FR 5062, Mar. 11, 1969; 40 FR 42536, Sept. 15, 1975; 41 FR 11294, Mar. 18, 1976; 43 FR 45350, Oct. 2, 1978; 51 FR 6411, Feb. 24, 1986; 61 FR 20439, May 7, 1996; 67 FR 48785, July 26, 2002; 67 FR 54349, Aug. 22, 2002; 68 FR 51456, Aug. 27, 2003; 69 FR 32450, June 10, 2004; 80 FR 42041, July 16, 2015; 85 FR 76460, Nov. 30, 2020, 85 FR 85523, Dec. 29, 2020, 86 FR 8142, Feb. 4, 2021. It dates the section and not this code, and it was read on 2026-08-21.
What the two levels require now
Derived from the regulation
Twenty percent reads "Marked (less than 5 degrees dorsiflexion or less than 10 degrees plantar flexion)". Ten percent reads "Moderate (less than 15 degrees dorsiflexion or less than 30 degrees plantar flexion)".
Each level offers two independent routes, one in dorsiflexion and one in plantar flexion, joined by or. Meeting either is what the criterion asks.
The adjectives survive in the text, but they are now labels for the parenthetical figures rather than standards in their own right. A report describing ankle motion as moderately limited without recording degrees answers the old version of this code and not the current one.
The other ankle codes
Reference
The ankle group runs 5270 for ankylosis of the ankle, 5271 for limited motion, 5272 for ankylosis of the subastragalar or tarsal joint, 5273 for malunion of the os calcis or astragalus, and 5274 for astragalectomy.
Where the joint is fixed rather than restricted, the ankylosis codes apply instead, and they reach higher evaluations than 5271 does.
See every level beside the regulation it comes from
The rating threshold cheatsheet shows all of the levels for limited motion of the ankle in one view, plain English on the left and the regulation itself on the right, in a layout built to print.
It is free and it never says which level anyone meets. It describes what each one requires and leaves the reading to the person whose record it is.
Sources
- 38 CFR 4.71a, Schedule of ratings, musculoskeletal system (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
- Appendix A to Part 4, Table of Amendments and Effective Dates Since 1946 (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
Accuracy owner Brayden Marley. Part 4 is amended on a rolling schedule, so the retrieval date above is what this page is accurate as of.