YOUR CONDITION, EXPLAINED
Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) VA disability rating & claim guide
The VA rates Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) under diagnostic code 5016, in 38 CFR § 4.71a (musculoskeletal system). This guide lists two evaluation levels for it: 10% and 0%; the code's evaluation is set through another part of the schedule, so check the criteria against the regulation.
Free · No account needed
Save your Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) guide
Email yourself this Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) guide so the rating criteria, evidence checklist, and preparation tips are easy to find later.
A CLEARER PATH FORWARD
Make sense of your next step.
01Understand the rating02Know what to gather03Plan your preparationTHE ESSENTIALS
How the VA rates Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease)
Osteitis deformans — Paget's disease of bone — is a disorder of bone remodelling in which bone is broken down and rebuilt too fast, leaving it enlarged, structurally weak and prone to deformity, pain and fracture. It most often affects the pelvis, spine, skull, femur and tibia. The schedule lists it as DC 5016, which has no percentages of its own and is rated on limitation of motion of the affected parts.
DC 5016 has no percentage criteria of its own, and no percentage under it turns on an alkaline phosphatase level, on the extent of radiographic change, or on the degree of bone deformity. The whole of its rating rule is the note that closes its block: "Evaluate the diseases under diagnostic codes 5013 through 5024 as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of affected parts." That routes to DC 5003, which rates "on the basis of limitation of motion under the appropriate diagnostic codes for the specific joint or joints involved (DC 5200 etc.)" — so the percentage is whatever the affected part's own code provides, and it differs part by part. There is no single ladder. Only where that limitation of motion is noncompensable does a fixed 10 percent apply, per major joint or group of minor joints, combined rather than added. DC 5003's own X-ray-based 20 and 10 percent ratings are expressly unavailable here: "Note (2): The 20 pct and 10 pct ratings based on X-ray findings, above, will not be utilized in rating conditions listed under diagnostic codes 5013 to 5024, inclusive." Paget's disease frequently produces complications that are rated separately under their own codes rather than under DC 5016 — a pathological fracture under the code for that bone, spinal stenosis or nerve-root compression under the spine and neurological codes, hearing loss from skull involvement under 38 CFR 4.85-4.87, and the rare malignant transformation to osteosarcoma under DC 5012. 38 CFR 4.59 entitles an actually painful joint to "at least the minimum compensable rating for the joint". Because the evaluation is assigned on the affected part, a decision letter normally shows a hyphenated code such as 5016-5252 rather than a bare 5016 (38 CFR 4.27).
- Diagnostic code
- 5016
- Rating schedule
- 38 CFR § 4.71a
- Levels in this guide
- 10% and 0%
EXPLORE THE PERCENTAGES
Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) VA rating criteria (DC 5016)
Choose a percentage to see what that level means. Open the full comparison to read all the criteria in one place.
These are published rating criteria. Selecting a level does not predict your VA decision.
BUILD YOUR EVIDENCE, ONE PIECE AT A TIME
Evidence for your Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) claim
A long list feels easier when you have a place to start. Use this checklist to see what you have and what still needs gathering.
Check off what you’ve gathered. Progress stays on this page until you leave or refresh.
THE EXAM FORM
Which DBQ is used for Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease)?
VA publishes its questionnaires by body system; find the one for this condition on VA's list.
Source: VA: Public Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs), read September 18, 2026.
THE EVERYDAY PICTURE
What the Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) examination has to record
The criteria above are read off an examination, and three sections of Part 4 govern what that examination has to contain. None of them is a diagnostic code, so none of them appears in the 5016 table, and all three apply to it. 38 CFR § 4.40: “Weakness is as important as limitation of motion, and a part which becomes painful on use must be regarded as seriously disabled.”
38 CFR § 4.45 lists what an examination of a joint is directed to consider:
- Less movement than normal (due to ankylosis, limitation or blocking, adhesions, tendon-tie-up, contracted scars, etc.).
- More movement than normal (from flail joint, resections, nonunion of fracture, relaxation of ligaments, etc.).
- Weakened movement (due to muscle injury, disease or injury of peripheral nerves, divided or lengthened tendons, etc.).
- Excess fatigability.
- Incoordination, impaired ability to execute skilled movements smoothly.
- Pain on movement, swelling, deformity or atrophy of disuse.
38 CFR § 4.59: “It is the intention to recognize actually painful, unstable, or malaligned joints, due to healed injury, as entitled to at least the minimum compensable rating for the joint.” So a joint that is painful on use is not a finding of nothing, even where the measured motion is close to normal.
The same section says how the joint is to be tested: “The joints involved should be tested for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing and, if possible, with the range of the opposite undamaged joint.” An examination that records one measurement, taken once, sitting down, has not done what the section asks, and that is worth reading the exam report for.
SMALL DETAILS. BETTER PREPARATION.
Preparing your Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) claim
Start with the practical tips, then explore the common oversights. You don’t need to work through everything at once.
Practical tips for your claim2 tips
- 01
Include lab results, imaging, and a symptom history together, since this combination is what establishes both the diagnosis and its current severity.
- 02
Note any neurological or fracture complications, since these push the rating toward the higher tiers.
C&P exam pitfalls to keep in mind2 tips
- 01
Failure to distinguish the condition from ordinary arthritis.
- 02
Omitting systemic symptoms that would support a higher severity tier.
Common filing mistakes2 tips
- 01
Not documenting any fracture or deformity history.
- 02
No lab or imaging data to confirm the diagnosis.
When symptoms may first appear1 tips
- 01
Paget's disease usually appears after age 40 and progresses slowly, often involving the pelvis, spine, or skull.
THE BROADER PICTURE
Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) by the numbers
- Approval outlook
- Moderate – due to rare nature but serious symptoms.
- Veterans service-connected
- ~180 veterans
Vetrify editorial estimates informed by VA published claims data (VBA Annual Benefits Report) and the VA rating schedule, not official VA statistics.
LET’S CLEAR A FEW THINGS UP
Common questions about Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease)
Is Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) a VA-rated disability?
Yes. The VA rates Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) under VASRD diagnostic code 5016 (Musculoskeletal System). Osteitis deformans — Paget's disease of bone — is a disorder of bone remodelling in which bone is broken down and rebuilt too fast, leaving it enlarged, structurally weak and prone to deformity, pain and fracture. It most often affects the pelvis, spine, skull, femur and tibia. The schedule lists it as DC 5016, which has no percentages of its own and is rated on limitation of motion of the affected parts.
What VA disability rating can I get for Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease)?
This guide lists these VA ratings for Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease): 10%, 0%; its evaluation is set through another part of the schedule, so check the criteria with the regulation. Examples: 10%: Where limitation of motion of an affected joint is objectively confirmed but noncompensable under that joint's own diagnostic code, "a rating of 10 pct is for application for each such major joint or group of minor joints affected by limitation of motion, to be combined, not added." Limitation of motion "must be objectively confirmed by findings such as swelling, muscle spasm, or satisfactory evidence of painful motion" (DC 5003); 0%: [38 CFR 4.31] Where no affected part shows compensable or objectively confirmed limitation of motion, a zero percent evaluation is assigned.
What evidence helps prove Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) for VA disability?
Strong evidence for a Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease) claim includes: Range-of-motion measurements, in degrees, for each part the disease has affected — this is the only thing DC 5016 rates, and most Paget's claims are built entirely on imaging and labs instead; X-ray, bone scan or MRI showing the characteristic remodelling and its distribution, plus elevated serum alkaline phosphatase, which establish the diagnosis even though they do not set the percentage; Documentation of every complication separately — pathological fracture, spinal stenosis or nerve compression, hearing loss from skull involvement — since each is rated under its own diagnostic code and combined; Examination findings recording objective painful motion, deformity or bowing of a weight-bearing bone, which support both the per-joint 10 percent and the 38 CFR 4.59 minimum.
What mistakes should veterans avoid when claiming Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease)?
Common pitfalls when filing for Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease): Not documenting any fracture or deformity history; No lab or imaging data to confirm the diagnosis.
What conditions can be secondary to Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease)?
Conditions that can be service-connected as secondary to Osteitis Deformans (Paget's Disease), when a medical opinion links them, include: Hearing Loss. A secondary condition gets its own rating, which VA combines with the veteran's other ratings under 38 CFR 4.25.
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.71a, Schedule of ratings, musculoskeletal system (Diagnostic Code 5016)
- 38 CFR § 4.40, functional loss
- 38 CFR § 4.45, the joints
- 38 CFR § 4.59, painful motion
Criteria in quotation marks are the regulation’s own words; everything else on this page is Vetrify’s summary of it. The eCFR text is authoritative. See how Vetrify derives its numbers.
How these figures are checked: our methodology and the open dataset.
VA Calc: Disability Pay
Combine your ratings & see monthly pay on your iPhone · Works offline