Musculoskeletal system
VA rating for limitation of extension of the knee, diagnostic code 5261
Six evaluations exist for limitation of extension of the knee, against four for flexion of the same joint. Diagnostic code 5261 runs 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 percent, and every criterion is a measurement of how many degrees short of straight the knee stops.
Published 2026-08-21. Last updated 2026-08-24. Written and reviewed under Veteran Health Network's institutional review process.
What each level requires
limitation of extension of the knee is rated under diagnostic code 5261, which the schedule calls "Leg, limitation of extension of", at 38 CFR 4.71a.
50 percent requires
In plain English
The knee stops 45 degrees short of straight.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Extension limited to 45°
40 percent requires
In plain English
The knee stops 30 degrees short of straight.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Extension limited to 30°
30 percent requires
In plain English
The knee stops 20 degrees short of straight.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Extension limited to 20°
20 percent requires
In plain English
The knee stops 15 degrees short of straight.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Extension limited to 15°
10 percent requires
In plain English
The knee stops 10 degrees short of straight.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Extension limited to 10°
0 percent requires
In plain English
The knee stops 5 degrees short of straight.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Extension limited to 5°
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 two ladders side by side
Derived from the regulation
Extension runs "Extension limited to 5°" at 0 percent, "Extension limited to 10°" at 10, "Extension limited to 15°" at 20, "Extension limited to 20°" at 30, "Extension limited to 30°" at 40 and "Extension limited to 45°" at 50.
The steps at the bottom are narrow. Five degrees short of straight is zero percent and ten degrees short is 10 percent, so a five degree difference in a single measurement crosses from noncompensable to compensable.
The flexion code above it moves in fifteen degree steps and stops at 30 percent. The same joint, measured in the other direction, is rated on a scale of a different shape.
Nothing here states what any particular measurement would show or which level it would meet.
How this code sits with the rest of the knee group
Derived from the regulation
The knee and leg group in 38 CFR 4.71a runs from 5256 through 5263, covering ankylosis, instability, cartilage, limitation of flexion and extension, impairment of the tibia and fibula, and genu recurvatum.
Codes 5260 and 5261 are the two motion codes. Because they measure different movements, they can describe different findings in the same knee.
The rule that governs whether more than one is assigned is 38 CFR 4.14, on rating a single disability once.
The same blank in the amendment table
Derived from the regulation
As with the flexion code, the interesting thing in the amendment record for this code is what is not in it.
Nor is there a row for 5261. Neither of the two knee motion codes has ever been amended in its own right, which is why the amendment table has nothing to say about either of them and why the blank is not a sign of new criteria.
Alongside it sits the section's Federal Register history, which moves whenever any code in the section moves: 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. Both records were read on 2026-08-21 against the edition current at 2026-08-01.
See every level beside the regulation it comes from
The rating threshold cheatsheet shows all of the levels for limitation of extension of the knee 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)
- 38 CFR 4.14, Avoidance of pyramiding (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.