Yes, plantar fasciitis is a recognized VA disability with its own dedicated diagnostic code (DC 5269). The VA rates it at 10%, 20%, or 30% depending on severity and whether one or both feet are affected. This rating category took effect on February 7, 2021, replacing the older practice of rating plantar fasciitis under general foot injury codes. If you served and developed plantar fasciitis during or because of your service, you can file for disability compensation.
How the VA Rates Plantar Fasciitis
Under Diagnostic Code 5269, the VA uses a straightforward three-tier system based on how well treatment has worked and whether the condition affects one foot or both:
- 10%: Plantar fasciitis in one or both feet that still responds to treatment (or hasn’t exhausted all treatment options).
- 20%: Plantar fasciitis in one foot (unilateral) with no relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment.
- 30%: Plantar fasciitis in both feet (bilateral) with no relief from both non-surgical and surgical treatment.
There’s an important additional note: if plantar fasciitis results in actual loss of use of the foot, meaning the foot functions no better than an amputation stump with a prosthetic would, the rating jumps to 40%. That threshold is high and rare, but it exists for the most severe cases. Also, if a doctor has recommended surgery but you aren’t a surgical candidate for medical reasons, the VA will evaluate you under the 20% or 30% criteria as if you had already tried surgery without relief.
What “Service Connection” Means for Your Claim
Getting a rating requires proving your plantar fasciitis is connected to your military service. The VA recognizes two main paths to establish this link.
Direct service connection means your plantar fasciitis developed during active duty. Ideally, your service treatment records show complaints of heel or foot pain, a diagnosis, or treatment while you were in. Activities like long marches, running on hard surfaces, drilling in boots, and prolonged standing are all plausible causes the VA has accepted in past decisions.
Secondary service connection means your plantar fasciitis was caused or worsened by another condition the VA already rates. For example, if you have service-connected flat feet (pes planus) and later develop plantar fasciitis, you can argue the flat feet led to the heel condition. In one Board of Veterans’ Appeals case, a veteran’s plantar fasciitis was found to be associated with his already service-connected flat feet and a heel bone spur visible on imaging. To win a secondary claim, you need three things: a current diagnosis of plantar fasciitis, an existing service-connected disability, and a medical opinion explaining how the two are related.
Medical Evidence That Strengthens Your Claim
The single most important piece of evidence beyond your diagnosis is a nexus letter. This is a written opinion from a doctor, often a podiatrist, stating that your plantar fasciitis is at least as likely as not connected to your military service or to another service-connected condition. The VA gives the most weight to opinions that are based on your actual medical history and include clear reasoning with supporting data, not just a one-sentence conclusion.
Imaging helps too. X-rays or MRIs showing thickened plantar fascia, heel spurs, or other structural changes provide objective proof of the condition’s severity. Gather records of every treatment you’ve tried: physical therapy notes, cortisone injection records, custom orthotics prescriptions, and any surgical consultations or procedures. This treatment history is critical because the difference between a 10% and a 20% or 30% rating hinges entirely on whether non-surgical and surgical treatments have failed to provide relief.
What Happens at the C&P Exam
After you file, the VA will schedule a Compensation and Pension exam. This is where an examiner evaluates the current severity of your plantar fasciitis and, in some cases, offers an opinion on whether it’s connected to your service. Knowing what to expect helps you prepare.
The examiner will likely ask you to stand on your toes and observe how you walk. They’ll check range of motion in your feet and ankles and press on your heels to assess tenderness. Beyond the physical tests, they’ll ask questions about your symptoms and daily limitations. Be ready to describe your morning pain in detail, since first-step pain after rest is one of the hallmark symptoms. Think through how often you have flare-ups, how long they last, and what triggers them. Have a clear list of every treatment you’ve tried and whether it helped.
Perhaps most importantly, explain how your feet affect your ability to work and handle everyday activities. Can you stand for a full shift? Do you avoid walking your dog or playing with your kids? Do you need to sit down frequently or use supportive devices? These functional impacts are what the examiner documents in their report, and they directly influence your rating.
Bilateral Ratings and “VA Math”
If both feet are affected, understanding how the VA calculates your total disability percentage matters. The VA applies something called the bilateral factor when a disability impacts paired limbs. Under this rule, the ratings for your left and right sides are combined, and then 10% is added to the combined value. However, both feet must each carry a rating of at least 10% for the bilateral factor to apply. A 0% rating on either foot disqualifies it.
The VA doesn’t simply add percentages together. Instead, it uses a combined ratings formula (often called “VA math”) where each additional disability is applied to the remaining percentage of your non-disabled body. So two 10% ratings don’t equal 20%. The math gets complicated quickly when you have multiple service-connected conditions, but the bilateral factor does give a meaningful boost to your overall combined rating.
Filing Timeline and Back Pay
If you’re considering a claim, file an Intent to File (ITF) as soon as possible. This is a simple notification to the VA that you plan to submit a claim, and it locks in your earliest possible effective date for benefits. You then have 365 days to complete and submit your full claim. If the VA grants your benefits, compensation will typically be backdated to the date you filed your ITF, meaning you’ll receive retroactive pay for the months it took to process your claim.
If you miss the one-year deadline, you can still finish your claim, but your effective date may shift to whenever you actually submit it. Since processing times can stretch many months, that lost back pay adds up. The claim decision letter will explain the effective date the VA chose and the reasoning behind it.
Getting a Higher Rating
The key dividing line in plantar fasciitis ratings is treatment failure. At 10%, the VA assumes your condition is manageable. To reach 20% or 30%, you need to show that you’ve exhausted both conservative treatments (stretching, orthotics, injections, physical therapy) and surgical options without adequate relief. If you’ve had surgery and your pain persists, document that clearly with your treating physician.
If you were rated under an older diagnostic code before February 2021, it may be worth requesting a review under DC 5269 to see if the new criteria benefit you. And if your condition has worsened since your last rating, you can file for an increased evaluation at any time with updated medical evidence showing the decline.