YOUR CONDITION, EXPLAINED
Osteomyelitis VA disability rating & claim guide
The VA rates Osteomyelitis under diagnostic code 5000, in 38 CFR § 4.71a (musculoskeletal system), and the schedule provides five evaluation levels for it: 100%, 60%, 30%, 20% and 10%.
Free · No account needed
Save your Osteomyelitis guide
Email yourself this Osteomyelitis 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 Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis is infection of bone — usually reaching it through an open fracture, a penetrating wound, surgery or the bloodstream — which can smoulder for years, produce dead bone (sequestrum) and drain through a sinus tract to the skin. DC 5000 rates it on how active and how widespread the infection is, and on how recently there has been objective evidence of activity.
DC 5000 covers acute, subacute and chronic osteomyelitis in one ladder, and the criteria are objective findings rather than symptom severity: site (pelvis, vertebrae, extension into major joints, multiple localization), constitutional involvement, the presence of an involucrum or sequestrum, and a discharging sinus or other evidence of active infection within the past five years. Two notes control how the lower ratings are used. Note (1): "A rating of 10 percent, as an exception to the amputation rule, is to be assigned in any case of active osteomyelitis where the amputation rating for the affected part is no percent. This 10 percent rating and the other partial ratings of 30 percent or less are to be combined with ratings for ankylosis, limited motion, nonunion or malunion, shortening, etc., subject, of course, to the amputation rule. The 60 percent rating, as it is based on constitutional symptoms, is not subject to the amputation rule. A rating for osteomyelitis will not be applied following cure by removal or radical resection of the affected bone." Note (2): "The 20 percent rating on the basis of activity within the past 5 years is not assignable following the initial infection of active osteomyelitis with no subsequent reactivation. The prerequisite for this historical rating is an established recurrent osteomyelitis. To qualify for the 10 percent rating, 2 or more episodes following the initial infection are required. This 20 percent rating or the 10 percent rating, when applicable, will be assigned once only to cover disability at all sites of previously active infection with a future ending date in the case of the 20 percent rating." So the 20 percent is a single time-limited historical rating, not a per-site one, and neither the 20 nor the 10 is available after a single infection that never recurred. Residual damage the infection left behind — limitation of motion, ankylosis, nonunion, shortening — is rated separately and combined, subject to the amputation rule.
- Diagnostic code
- 5000
- Rating schedule
- 38 CFR § 4.71a
- Schedule levels
- 100%, 60%, 30%, 20% and 10%
How does the VA choose a rating level?
Which level applies is set by the criteria the evidence meets, not by the diagnosis. Where there is a question as to which of two evaluations applies, 38 CFR § 4.7 assigns the higher one if the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating.
This code prints no 0% row. Under 38 CFR § 4.31, a 0% evaluation is assigned where the requirements for a compensable evaluation are not met.
EXPLORE THE PERCENTAGES
Osteomyelitis VA rating criteria (DC 5000)
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.
IN THE REGULATION’S OWN WORDS
What 38 CFR also says about Osteomyelitis
The notes 38 CFR Part 4 prints with these criteria, quoted. They govern how the evaluation is made without being a rating level themselves.
- “Note (1): A rating of 10 percent, as an exception to the amputation rule, is to be assigned in any case of active osteomyelitis where the amputation rating for the affected part is no percent. This 10 percent rating and the other partial ratings of 30 percent or less are to be combined with ratings for ankylosis, limited motion, nonunion or malunion, shortening, etc., subject, of course, to the amputation rule. The 60 percent rating, as it is based on constitutional symptoms, is not subject to the amputation rule. A rating for osteomyelitis will not be applied following cure by removal or radical resection of the affected bone.”DC 5000
- “Note (2): The 20 percent rating on the basis of activity within the past 5 years is not assignable following the initial infection of active osteomyelitis with no subsequent reactivation. The prerequisite for this historical rating is an established recurrent osteomyelitis. To qualify for the 10 percent rating, 2 or more episodes following the initial infection are required. This 20 percent rating or the 10 percent rating, when applicable, will be assigned once only to cover disability at all sites of previously active infection with a future ending date in the case of the 20 percent rating.”DC 5000
BUILD YOUR EVIDENCE, ONE PIECE AT A TIME
Evidence for your Osteomyelitis 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 Osteomyelitis?
VA's page says: “You can use these forms to submit medical evidence from your health care providers.”
Source: VA: Public Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs), read September 18, 2026.
THE EVERYDAY PICTURE
What the Osteomyelitis 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 5000 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 Osteomyelitis 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
Submit surgical records, cultures, and scans together, since this broader code's higher tiers specifically require evidence of systemic or multi-bone involvement.
- 02
Explain how the infection affects your mobility or overall health, since functional and systemic impact both factor into the rating.
C&P exam pitfalls to keep in mind2 tips
- 01
Missing imaging confirmation of the infection.
- 02
An incomplete infection history that doesn't capture the condition's full course.
Common filing mistakes2 tips
- 01
Not linking the infection to a service-connected fracture.
- 02
Omitting surgical history or wound care records.
When symptoms may first appear1 tips
- 01
Osteomyelitis often begins after an open fracture, surgery, or wound infection, and can become chronic even after the initial infection appears to heal.
THE BROADER PICTURE
Osteomyelitis by the numbers
- Approval outlook
- Moderate – with hospital records and imaging.
- Veterans service-connected
- ~900 veterans
- Typical rating awarded
- ~30%
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 Osteomyelitis
Is Osteomyelitis a VA-rated disability?
Yes. The VA rates Osteomyelitis under VASRD diagnostic code 5000 (Musculoskeletal System). Osteomyelitis is infection of bone — usually reaching it through an open fracture, a penetrating wound, surgery or the bloodstream — which can smoulder for years, produce dead bone (sequestrum) and drain through a sinus tract to the skin. DC 5000 rates it on how active and how widespread the infection is, and on how recently there has been objective evidence of activity.
What VA disability rating can I get for Osteomyelitis?
Possible VA ratings for Osteomyelitis are 100%, 60%, 30%, 20%, 10%, 0%. The 0% level comes from 38 CFR 4.31, which assigns it wherever no compensable level is met. Examples: 100%: "Of the pelvis, vertebrae, or extending into major joints, or with multiple localization or with long history of intractability and debility, anemia, amyloid liver changes, or other continuous constitutional symptoms."; 60%: "Frequent episodes, with constitutional symptoms." Note (1): "The 60 percent rating, as it is based on constitutional symptoms, is not subject to the amputation rule."; 30%: "With definite involucrum or sequestrum, with or without discharging sinus." (An involucrum is new bone laid down around dead bone; a sequestrum is a fragment of dead bone that has separated).
What's the typical VA rating awarded for Osteomyelitis?
Vetrify estimates the typical rating awarded for Osteomyelitis at around 30%, based on VA claims data and the rating schedule. An estimated 900 veterans are service-connected for Osteomyelitis. Estimated approval outlook: Moderate – with hospital records and imaging.
What evidence helps prove Osteomyelitis for VA disability?
Strong evidence for a Osteomyelitis claim includes: Imaging or an operative report identifying an involucrum or a sequestrum by name — that finding alone is the 30 percent criterion; Records of a discharging sinus or other objective evidence of active infection, dated, because the 20 percent criterion turns on activity "within the past 5 years"; A dated episode history, since Note (2) requires an established recurrent osteomyelitis for the 20 percent and "2 or more episodes following the initial infection" for the 10 percent; Bone biopsy or deep culture results confirming the organism, plus hospitalization and debridement records.
Which DBQ is used for Osteomyelitis?
VA's Osteomyelitis Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) is on its public list of DBQs. VA's page says: "You can use these forms to submit medical evidence from your health care providers."
What mistakes should veterans avoid when claiming Osteomyelitis?
Common pitfalls when filing for Osteomyelitis: Not linking the infection to a service-connected fracture; Omitting surgical history or wound care records.
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.71a, Schedule of ratings, musculoskeletal system (Diagnostic Code 5000)
- 38 CFR § 4.7, higher of two evaluations
- 38 CFR § 4.31, zero percent evaluations
- 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