Musculoskeletal system
VA rating for degenerative disc disease, diagnostic code 5242
Degenerative disc disease of the spine is diagnostic code 5242, rated from the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The schedule draws an explicit line between this code and 5243, and it prints that line inside the title of 5243 rather than in a note.
Published 2026-08-21. Last updated 2026-08-24. Written and reviewed under Veteran Health Network's institutional review process.
What each level requires
degenerative disc disease is rated under diagnostic code 5242, which the schedule calls "Degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease other than intervertebral disc syndrome", at 38 CFR 4.71a.
The criteria below are not written for this condition on its own. They come from the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine, which governs every code in this group. The diagnosis decides which formula applies. The formula decides what each level requires.
100 percent requires
In plain English
The entire spine is fixed in an unfavorable position.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine
50 percent requires
In plain English
The whole thoracolumbar spine, meaning the mid and lower back, is fixed in an unfavorable position.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine
40 percent requires
In plain English
Any one of three findings: the entire cervical spine fixed in an unfavorable position, forward bending of the mid and lower back limited to 30 degrees or less, or the entire thoracolumbar spine fixed in a favorable position.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine; or, forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less; or, favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine
30 percent requires
In plain English
Forward bending of the neck limited to 15 degrees or less, or the entire cervical spine fixed in a favorable position. This level is available for the neck only.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Forward flexion of the cervical spine 15 degrees or less; or, favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine
20 percent requires
In plain English
Any one of five findings: forward bending of the mid and lower back between 30 and 60 degrees, forward bending of the neck between 15 and 30 degrees, combined range of motion of the mid and lower back of 120 degrees or less, combined range of motion of the neck of 170 degrees or less, or muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to produce an abnormal gait or an abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees; or, forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 15 degrees but not greater than 30 degrees; or, the combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine not greater than 120 degrees; or, the combined range of motion of the cervical spine not greater than 170 degrees; or, muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis
10 percent requires
In plain English
Any one of five findings: forward bending of the mid and lower back between 60 and 85 degrees, forward bending of the neck between 30 and 40 degrees, combined range of motion of the mid and lower back between 120 and 235 degrees, combined range of motion of the neck between 170 and 335 degrees, or muscle spasm, guarding or localized tenderness that does not produce an abnormal gait or contour, or a vertebral body fracture with loss of half its height or more.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 60 degrees but not greater than 85 degrees; or, forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 40 degrees; or, combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 120 degrees but not greater than 235 degrees; or, combined range of motion of the cervical spine greater than 170 degrees but not greater than 335 degrees; or, muscle spasm, guarding, or localized tenderness not resulting in abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour; or, vertebral body fracture with loss of 50 percent or more of the height
Notes the schedule attaches to this code
These are part of the regulation and they change how the criteria above are applied. They are reproduced word for word.
- Note (1): Evaluate any associated objective neurologic abnormalities, including, but not limited to, bowel or bladder impairment, separately, under an appropriate diagnostic code.
- Note (2): (See also Plate V.) For VA compensation purposes, normal forward flexion of the cervical spine is zero to 45 degrees, extension is zero to 45 degrees, left and right lateral flexion are zero to 45 degrees, and left and right lateral rotation are zero to 80 degrees. Normal forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine is zero to 90 degrees, extension is zero to 30 degrees, left and right lateral flexion are zero to 30 degrees, and left and right lateral rotation are zero to 30 degrees. The combined range of motion refers to the sum of the range of forward flexion, extension, left and right lateral flexion, and left and right rotation. The normal combined range of motion of the cervical spine is 340 degrees and of the thoracolumbar spine is 240 degrees. The normal ranges of motion for each component of spinal motion provided in this note are the maximum that can be used for calculation of the combined range of motion.
- Note (3): In exceptional cases, an examiner may state that because of age, body habitus, neurologic disease, or other factors not the result of disease or injury of the spine, the range of motion of the spine in a particular individual should be considered normal for that individual, even though it does not conform to the normal range of motion stated in Note (2). Provided that the examiner supplies an explanation, the examiner's assessment that the range of motion is normal for that individual will be accepted.
- Note (4): Round each range of motion measurement to the nearest five degrees.
- Note (5): For VA compensation purposes, unfavorable ankylosis is a condition in which the entire cervical spine, the entire thoracolumbar spine, or the entire spine is fixed in flexion or extension, and the ankylosis results in one or more of the following: difficulty walking because of a limited line of vision; restricted opening of the mouth and chewing; breathing limited to diaphragmatic respiration; gastrointestinal symptoms due to pressure of the costal margin on the abdomen; dyspnea or dysphagia; atlantoaxial or cervical subluxation or dislocation; or neurologic symptoms due to nerve root stretching. Fixation of a spinal segment in neutral position (zero degrees) always represents favorable ankylosis.
- Note (6): Separately evaluate disability of the thoracolumbar and cervical spine segments, except when there is unfavorable ankylosis of both segments, which will be rated as a single disability.
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 sentence that divides the two disc codes
Derived from the regulation
The schedule prints code 5243 with an instruction attached to its own name: "Intervertebral disc syndrome: Assign this diagnostic code only when there is disc herniation with compression and/or irritation of the adjacent nerve root; assign diagnostic code 5242 for all other disc diagnoses"
Read plainly, that assigns disc herniation with compression or irritation of the adjacent nerve root to 5243, and every other disc diagnosis to 5242.
Both codes are rated from the same general spine formula, so the division does not by itself change what a percentage requires. It matters because 5243 alone has access to a second, alternative rating method that 5242 does not.
Renumbered in 2003, retitled in 2021
Derived from the regulation
This code has two dated changes behind it, and the second one changed only its name.
Appendix A to Part 4 puts both on one line for code 5242: "Replaces 5285-5295 September 26, 2003; Title February 7, 2021."
The section also carries a Federal Register citation line, which tracks the section as a whole rather than the individual code: 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. Read 2026-08-21.
The neighbors in this group
Derived from the regulation
The spine group runs 5235 for vertebral fracture or dislocation, 5236 for sacroiliac injury and weakness, 5237 for lumbosacral or cervical strain, 5238 for spinal stenosis, 5239 for spondylolisthesis or segmental instability, 5240 for ankylosing spondylitis, 5241 for spinal fusion, 5242 for degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease, and 5243 for intervertebral disc syndrome.
All nine read from one formula. The code number records which diagnosis was made and, for 5243 alone, opens a second rating route.
A decision that moves a rating from 5242 to 5237 or the reverse has therefore recorded a different diagnosis without changing the criteria applied.
See every level beside the regulation it comes from
The rating threshold cheatsheet shows all of the levels for degenerative disc disease 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.