YOUR CONDITION, EXPLAINED
Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints VA disability rating & claim guide
The VA rates Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints under diagnostic code 5001, in 38 CFR § 4.71a (musculoskeletal system), and the schedule provides four evaluation levels for it: 100%, 50%, 30% and 0%.
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A CLEARER PATH FORWARD
Make sense of your next step.
01Understand the rating02Know what to gather03Plan your preparationTHE ESSENTIALS
How the VA rates Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints
Skeletal tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection of bone or joint — most often the spine (Pott's disease), hip or knee — causing destructive lesions, pain, deformity and abscess. DC 5001 ("Bones and joints, tuberculosis of, active or inactive") is a single 100 percent evaluation while the disease is active; once it is inactive the schedule sends the rating elsewhere.
DC 5001 has exactly one rated row: "Active — 100." There is no 60, 30 or 10 percent step under this code. The code's only other line is a cross-reference, not a criterion: "Inactive: See §§ 4.88c and 4.89." Those sections govern how inactive nonpulmonary tuberculosis is evaluated and which claimants are entitled to graduated ratings, and they turn on the date entitlement was established — so the inactive evaluation is not a number that can be read off DC 5001 and must be resolved from §§ 4.88c and 4.89 for the individual claim. Separately, residual disability left behind by the infection — destroyed joint, ankylosis, limitation of motion, spinal deformity, nerve involvement — is rated under the appropriate diagnostic code for that residual in the body system affected, which is how most long-settled skeletal-tuberculosis claims are actually evaluated. Active tuberculosis is also a chronic disease for presumptive service connection purposes under 38 CFR 3.307 and 3.309(a).
- Diagnostic code
- 5001
- Rating schedule
- 38 CFR § 4.71a
- Schedule levels
- 100%, 50%, 30% and 0%
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 guide describes one of those levels in detail; for 50%, 30% and 0%, read the criteria in 38 CFR § 4.71a.
EXPLORE THE PERCENTAGES
Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints VA rating criteria (DC 5001)
This condition has one published rating level. Read the criteria, then explore the details and monthly pay.
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 Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints 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 Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints?
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 Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints 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 5001 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 Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints 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 all infectious disease treatment records
- 02
Include orthopedic exams if joint damage exists
C&P exam pitfalls to keep in mind2 tips
- 01
No proof of TB organism in joint
- 02
Treating as osteoarthritis instead of infectious cause
Common filing mistakes2 tips
- 01
No history of TB diagnosis
- 02
Omitting imaging of joints
When symptoms may first appear2 tips
- 01
Often slow-growing with joint pain and swelling
- 02
May not present with typical TB lung symptoms
THE BROADER PICTURE
Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints by the numbers
- Approval outlook
- Moderate – based on infection history and lasting damage.
- Veterans service-connected
- ~430 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 Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints
Is Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints a VA-rated disability?
Yes. The VA rates Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints under VASRD diagnostic code 5001 (Musculoskeletal System). Skeletal tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection of bone or joint — most often the spine (Pott's disease), hip or knee — causing destructive lesions, pain, deformity and abscess. DC 5001 ("Bones and joints, tuberculosis of, active or inactive") is a single 100 percent evaluation while the disease is active; once it is inactive the schedule sends the rating elsewhere.
What VA disability rating can I get for Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints?
Possible VA ratings for Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints are 100%, 50%, 30%, 0%. Examples: 100%: "Active." DC 5001 prints a single rated row: tuberculosis of the bones and joints is evaluated 100 percent for as long as the disease is active.
What evidence helps prove Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints for VA disability?
Strong evidence for a Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints claim includes: Culture, histopathology or nucleic-acid testing confirming Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the bone or joint, which is what establishes the diagnosis under this code rather than pulmonary tuberculosis; Imaging (X-ray, CT or MRI) showing the bone or joint lesion and its extent; Documentation of the exact dates the disease was active and the date it was declared inactive — DC 5001's only rated row is the active period, and everything after it is governed by §§ 4.88c and 4.89; Treatment records showing the anti-tuberculous drug course and any surgical debridement or fusion.
Which DBQ is used for Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints?
VA's Tuberculosis 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 Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints?
Common pitfalls when filing for Tuberculosis of the Bones and Joints: No history of TB diagnosis; Omitting imaging of joints.
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.71a, Schedule of ratings, musculoskeletal system (Diagnostic Code 5001)
- 38 CFR § 4.7, higher of two 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.
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