Musculoskeletal system
VA rating for plantar fasciitis, diagnostic code 5269
Since 7 February 2021 plantar fasciitis has had a code of its own, 5269, rated at 10, 20 or 30 percent. Before that date it had none, and was rated by analogy to something else in the foot group, which is why older material describes a different test.
Published 2026-08-21. Last updated 2026-08-24. Written and reviewed under Veteran Health Network's institutional review process.
What each level requires
plantar fasciitis is rated under diagnostic code 5269, at 38 CFR 4.71a.
30 percent requires
In plain English
Both feet, with no relief from either non-surgical or surgical treatment. Both routes must have been tried and failed.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, bilateral
20 percent requires
In plain English
One foot, with no relief from either non-surgical or surgical treatment.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, unilateral
10 percent requires
In plain English
Everything else, one foot or both. There is no separate 10 percent for bilateral involvement under this code.
As written in 38 CFR 4.71a
Otherwise, unilateral or bilateral
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): 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
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.
Before 2021 this condition had no code
Derived from the regulation
One of the more consequential recent additions to the musculoskeletal schedule, because it replaced a rating by analogy with a rating by name.
The Appendix A row for 5269 is a single entry: "Added February 7, 2021."
That is the code's own row. The Federal Register line printed under the section belongs to 4.71a as a whole: 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.
A scale built on treatment rather than on measurement
Derived from the regulation
The two upper levels are the same criterion applied to one foot or both: "No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, unilateral" at 20 percent and "No relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment, bilateral" at 30.
The 10 percent criterion is the catch-all: "Otherwise, unilateral or bilateral". One foot or both, and no distinction between them.
So bilateral involvement changes the evaluation at the top of the code and changes nothing at the bottom. That asymmetry is printed in the schedule.
Note (2) then adds a route for people who cannot have the surgery: where surgical intervention has been recommended but the person is not a surgical candidate, the 20 or 30 percent criteria apply as appropriate. Note (1) sets a separate figure of 40 percent where there is actual loss of use of the foot.
The foot codes around it
Derived from the regulation
The foot group in 38 CFR 4.71a includes 5276 for acquired flatfoot, 5277 for bilateral weak foot, 5278 for claw foot, 5279 for metatarsalgia, 5280 for hallux valgus, 5281 for hallux rigidus, 5282 for hammer toe and 5284 for other foot injuries.
Before 5269 existed, plantar fasciitis was reached through 38 CFR 4.20, which permits an unlisted condition to be rated under the criteria for a closely related listed one, and 38 CFR 4.27, which builds the hyphenated code number that records the borrowing.
A decision letter from before 2021 showing a hyphenated foot code is therefore showing its own working, which is what 4.27 is for.
See every level beside the regulation it comes from
The rating threshold cheatsheet shows all of the levels for plantar fasciitis 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 4.20, Analogous ratings (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
- 38 CFR 4.27, Use of diagnostic code numbers (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.