The VA rating for plantar fasciitis falls at 10, 20, 30, or 40 percent under 38 CFR § 4.71a, Diagnostic Code 5269. The level depends on two things: whether the condition affects one foot or both, and whether non-surgical and surgical treatments have actually helped. Pain severity alone does not drive the number. Treatment response does.
The Four Rating Levels Under DC 5269
Diagnostic Code 5269 sets out four tiers, and each tier has specific criteria the rating board applies.
- 10 percent is the baseline for a confirmed diagnosis that does not meet the higher criteria, whether the condition is in one foot or both.
- 20 percent applies when plantar fasciitis in one foot has not improved after both non-surgical treatments (orthotics, physical therapy, injections) and surgical treatment.
- 30 percent applies when plantar fasciitis in both feet has not improved after both non-surgical and surgical treatment.
- 40 percent is reserved for actual loss of use of the foot, meaning the foot is essentially nonfunctional.
A veteran with significant daily pain who responded to orthotics gets 10 percent. A veteran with moderate pain that has not responded to any treatment can get 20 or 30 percent. That is why framing the evidence around what treatments you tried and how each one worked matters more than describing how much it hurts.1eCFR. 38 CFR 4.71a – Musculoskeletal System
The Surgical-Candidate Exception
You do not have to actually undergo surgery to reach 20 or 30 percent. If a doctor has recommended surgery but you are not a surgical candidate for medical reasons, the VA evaluates you under the 20 percent criteria (one foot) or 30 percent criteria (both feet) as if the treatment had already failed. Many veterans miss this and settle for 10 percent when their records already contain the evidence for a higher rating.
What Each Rating Pays in 2026
Monthly compensation adjusts each year for cost of living. For a single veteran with no dependents, the 2026 rates effective December 1, 2025 are:2Veterans Affairs. Current Veterans Disability Compensation Rates
- 10 percent: $180.42 per month
- 20 percent: $356.66 per month
- 30 percent: $552.47 per month
Veterans rated at 30 percent or higher also receive additional compensation for a spouse, children, and dependent parents. Over the course of a lifetime, the gap between a 10 percent rating and a 30 percent rating adds up to tens of thousands of dollars, which is why the treatment-failure documentation earns the attention.
The Bilateral Factor When Both Feet Are Involved
When plantar fasciitis affects both feet, 38 CFR § 4.26 applies a bilateral factor. After the ratings for each foot are combined, the VA adds 10 percent of the combined value on top before doing any further calculations with other service-connected conditions. This is a straight arithmetic addition.3eCFR. 38 CFR 4.26 – Bilateral Factor
The factor applies whenever there are compensable disabilities in both paired extremities. If you hold a single 30 percent evaluation for bilateral plantar fasciitis (because both feet failed treatment), the math works differently than if you carry separate ratings for each foot, so how the condition is claimed matters.
Establishing Service Connection
Before any rating is assigned, the VA needs three things: a current diagnosis, evidence of an in-service event or condition, and a medical opinion linking the two.4Veterans Affairs. Eligibility for VA Disability Benefits
The diagnosis is documented by a podiatrist or other healthcare provider. The in-service element can be a specific injury, a pattern of duties involving prolonged foot stress (road marches, parachute jumps), or foot complaints noted in your service treatment records. The nexus opinion ties it together. The doctor states that your current plantar fasciitis is “at least as likely as not” related to your military service, which carries specific legal weight: at least a 50 percent probability of a connection.5Veterans Affairs. Evidence Needed for Your Disability Claim
Secondary Service Connection
If your plantar fasciitis developed because of another service-connected disability, you can file a secondary claim. A service-connected knee or hip injury that alters your gait can place abnormal stress on the plantar fascia. The nexus opinion needs to explain how the primary disability caused or aggravated the foot condition, with reference to your medical history and how you walk.6Veterans Affairs. Types of Disability Claims and When to File
A Note on Gulf War Presumptives
Plantar fasciitis is not a presumptive condition under 38 CFR § 3.317. That regulation covers undiagnosed illnesses and specific chronic multisymptom conditions for Gulf War veterans, and because plantar fasciitis has a known clinical cause, it does not qualify. You will need direct or secondary service connection.7eCFR. 38 CFR 3.317 – Compensation for Certain Disabilities Occurring in Persian Gulf Veterans
Functional Loss and the C&P Exam
Under 38 CFR § 4.40, the VA must consider functional loss when rating musculoskeletal disabilities. That includes reduced strength, limited range of motion, pain during movement, lack of coordination, and fatigue during repetitive use. Pain supported by clinical evidence and visible behavior during examination is enough to classify a body part as seriously disabled.8eCFR. 38 CFR 4.40 – Functional Loss
The Compensation and Pension exam is where functional loss gets captured. Not every claim triggers one. If your medical records already show enough detail, the VA can decide the claim on the existing file.9Veterans Affairs. VA Claim Exam
When a C&P exam happens, the examiner will look at your feet, ask about flare-ups, and evaluate how pain affects standing, walking, and repetitive movement. The examiner must address whether pain would significantly limit your function during flare-ups or extended use. If you have good days and bad days, describe the bad days clearly. Examiners are required to consider your worst functional capacity, not just how you look on exam day.
Skipping a scheduled exam costs you. On an original compensation claim, the VA rates based only on the evidence already in the file, which usually means a lower rating or a denial. On a claim for increase or a supplemental claim, the VA denies outright.10eCFR. 38 CFR 3.655 – Failure to Report for Department of Veterans Affairs Examination
Evidence That Moves the Rating
The VA decides claims on the evidence of record, so what you put in the file is what you get.
Medical Records and the Nexus Letter
Private podiatry records should document when symptoms started, every treatment you tried, how each treatment did or did not help, and any imaging showing structural changes. Records that track your condition over months or years read stronger than a single visit summary.
The nexus letter is usually the centerpiece. A qualified provider reviews your service records and current diagnosis and writes an opinion on the service connection. These letters typically cost between $900 and $3,000 depending on the review’s complexity and the provider’s credentials. A letter that discusses the specific mechanism of injury and cites your treatment timeline carries far more weight than one with generic language.
Private Disability Benefits Questionnaires
A private podiatrist can complete a Disability Benefits Questionnaire for plantar fasciitis. The DBQ is a standardized VA form that captures the findings the rating board needs. The provider has to fully complete the clinician information section and sign and date the form. Incomplete DBQs lose credibility. The VA does not reimburse the cost, and submitting a private DBQ does not guarantee the VA will skip its own exam. If the VA finds the private DBQ insufficient or inconsistent with other evidence, it can order another.
Buddy Statements
Statements from family, fellow service members, or anyone who observed your condition fill gaps in the medical record. Submit them on VA Form 21-10210. Specific observations work best: when you started limping, when you stopped being able to run, how your daily routine changed.11Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 21-10210
Filing and Protecting Your Effective Date
File the disability claim on VA Form 21-526EZ. Filing online through VA.gov is the fastest route and lets you upload evidence and enter direct deposit during submission.12Veterans Affairs. How to File a VA Disability Claim Identify the condition specifically as plantar fasciitis so the VA routes it to DC 5269 rather than a general foot injury category.13Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 21-526EZ
As of February 2026, the VA reports an average processing time of 76.6 days for disability-related claims. The timeline depends on whether a C&P exam is ordered, how quickly you respond to requests for more evidence, and the complexity of the claim.14Veterans Affairs. The VA Claim Process After You File Your Claim
The effective date controls when payments start and how much back pay you receive. If you are still gathering records or waiting on a nexus letter, file an Intent to File using VA Form 21-0966 first. That locks in an earlier effective date and gives you up to one year to submit the completed 21-526EZ.15Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 21-0966 Filing online automatically creates an intent to file, so you don’t need the paper form in that case. For a mailed claim or one that needs weeks of evidence-gathering, filing the intent to file is one of the most financially consequential steps in the process. Waiting six months to collect a nexus letter without an intent to file on record costs six months of potential back pay.
Under 38 CFR § 3.155, if you do not submit a complete claim within one year of the intent to file, the VA will not take further action on it. You would start over, and the effective date would reset to the later submission.16eCFR. 38 CFR 3.155 – Intent to File a Claim
For veterans who file within one year of leaving military service, the effective date goes back to the day after separation. Filing more than a year after discharge means the effective date is based on when the VA received the claim or intent to file.
Overlapping Foot Conditions
Many veterans with plantar fasciitis also have flat feet, heel spurs, or other foot conditions. Under 38 CFR § 4.14, the VA cannot assign separate ratings for the same set of symptoms evaluated under different diagnostic codes. If your plantar fasciitis and flat feet produce the same functional limitations, the VA rates those symptoms once under whichever code produces the higher evaluation.17eCFR. 38 CFR 4.14 – Avoidance of Pyramiding
Separate ratings are still possible when different conditions produce genuinely distinct symptoms. Plantar fasciitis causing heel pain and a separate nerve condition causing toe numbness can potentially be rated under different codes because the symptoms don’t overlap. The question the VA asks is whether the same functional impairment is being counted twice.
If the Rating Is Too Low or the Claim Is Denied
Under the Appeals Modernization Act, you have three options to challenge a VA decision, and you must act within one year of the date on your decision letter to preserve the original effective date.18Veterans Affairs. Higher-Level Reviews
- A supplemental claim lets you submit new and relevant evidence that was not part of the original file, such as a stronger nexus letter, updated treatment records, or a private DBQ. There is no hard filing deadline, but filing within one year of the decision preserves the original effective date; filing later resets it.19Veterans Affairs. Supplemental Claims
- A higher-level review has a more senior reviewer re-examine the same evidence already in your file. Choose it when the original decision misapplied the rating criteria or overlooked existing evidence. You cannot submit new evidence.
- A Board appeal sends your case to a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. You choose direct review (no new evidence, goal of 365 days), evidence submission (new evidence within 90 days, goal of 550 days), or hearing (you testify before the judge, goal of 730 days).20Veterans Affairs. Board Appeals
For plantar fasciitis claims, the most common denial reason is insufficient evidence of a nexus to service, not the absence of a diagnosis. If your claim was denied on nexus grounds, a supplemental claim with a stronger medical opinion is usually the most direct path. If the rating came in lower than expected despite strong evidence, a higher-level review can catch an error in how the findings were applied to DC 5269.
When Plantar Fasciitis Contributes to TDIU
If plantar fasciitis alone or combined with other service-connected disabilities prevents you from holding substantially gainful employment, you may qualify for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability. TDIU pays at the 100 percent rate even when your combined schedular rating is lower.
Under 38 CFR § 4.16, you need either a single service-connected disability rated at 60 percent or more, or multiple service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40 percent and a combined rating of 70 percent or more. Plantar fasciitis alone rarely reaches those thresholds, but combined with other conditions (a back injury, knee problems, or bilateral foot disabilities with the bilateral factor applied), the combined rating can meet the bar. Even below the percentage thresholds, the VA can grant TDIU on an extra-schedular basis if the evidence shows your service-connected disabilities genuinely prevent you from working. The “substantially gainful employment” standard excludes marginal employment, which the VA generally defines as earnings below the federal poverty threshold for one person.21eCFR. 38 CFR 4.16 – Total Disability Ratings for Compensation Based on Unemployability of the Individual