Flatfoot (Pes Planus) Claims Guide

What Flatfoot Is

Flatfoot means the arch of the foot has dropped so that most or all of the sole touches the ground. It can cause foot pain, arch and heel pain, swelling, and an inward roll of the ankle that throws off the whole leg. The VA rates acquired flatfoot, the kind that develops or worsens over time, under diagnostic code 5276, part of the musculoskeletal schedule (see 38 CFR § 4.71a).

The Entrance-Exam Trap (Soundness and Aggravation)

If flatfoot was not noted at entry, the presumption of soundness applies, and you are on the ordinary direct or secondary path instead. Which situation you are in changes the whole claim, so the first thing to check is what your entrance exam actually recorded. See presumption of soundness and aggravation.

How It Gets Service Connected

• Aggravation (the common path for pre-existing flatfoot). Flatfoot noted at entry that service permanently worsened. The evidence needs to show the increase in severity was due to service, not just the natural course of the condition.
• Direct. Flatfoot that developed during service, with a current diagnosis and a link to service, for example the foot strain of prolonged marching, running, and load-bearing.
• Secondary. Flatfoot caused or worsened by another service-connected condition that changed your gait or mechanics, or claimed the other way around when the flatfoot itself throws off the knees, hips, or back. See secondary conditions.

Across published DC 5276 decisions, here is how often the Board granted by the legal theory the claim was argued on:

Common Secondary Conditions

Flatfoot changes how force travels up the leg, so it sits at the start of a chain, and it can also be the downstream result of another condition. Each bar below is the Board's grant rate for DC 5276 in that pairing, with the number of decisions under it. They describe the published record across many veterans, not a prediction about any one claim.

Conditions that can cause flatfoot (flatfoot as the secondary)

Claims where flatfoot was argued as secondary to an already service-connected condition:

Conditions flatfoot can cause (flatfoot as the primary)

Conditions veterans have claimed as caused or aggravated by service-connected flatfoot, as the fallen arch and altered gait strain the rest of the chain:

How the VA Rates Flatfoot (DC 5276)

The level is set by how severe the deformity and symptoms are, and whether one or both feet are affected. The higher percentages require objective signs, not just pain.

Evidence That Wins

• Your entrance and separation exams. For an aggravation claim, these show whether flatfoot was noted at entry and how much it worsened by the time you left. This is the single most important record for pre-existing flatfoot.
• A current exam documenting the objective signs the rating turns on: deformity, tenderness, swelling on use, callosities, inward bowing, and the weight-bearing line, so the rater can place you above the mild level.
• Whether orthotics help, and what pain and deformity remain despite them, since relief by arch support caps the rating at mild.
• A nexus opinion for aggravation or secondary claims, linking the worsening or the flatfoot to service or to another service-connected condition. See nexus letters.
• The Foot Conditions DBQ, which captures the flatfoot findings, one or both feet, and the severity the rating depends on. See the DBQ guide.

Common Mistakes

The same handful of missteps account for most lost or under-rated flatfoot claims. Among the Board's classified service-connection denials for flatfoot, here is what claims most often fell short on:

Frequently Asked Questions