Elbow VA Rating

The elbow is the hardest orthopedic joint to get a meaningful rating on. Across 8,016 decided Board rulings on elbow conditions from 2021 to 2026, 13.1% were granted, 31.9% denied and 55.0% remanded. A ruling is one issue the Board decided in one decision; one decision often rules on several issues. That grant rate is lower than the knee, lower than the back, and the lowest of the orthopedic conditions on this site. It sits 11.6 percentage points below the 24.7 percent across all decided Board rulings. Remand, not denial, is the most common outcome.

The reason isn't that elbow injuries are rare. Two things trip elbow claims: a record that never pins down a diagnosis, and rating math that stays low for an elbow that still moves. On the flexion and extension codes, an elbow that still bends to 90 degrees and straightens to within 75 degrees rates no higher than 20 percent. Ankylosis ratings climb higher, but they require an elbow fixed in place.

This page covers the elbow rating chart, tennis elbow and tendonitis, the dominant-arm rule, how to prove service connection, the C&P exam, and why VA denies elbow claims.

TL;DR

• 8,016 decided Board rulings on elbow conditions from 2021 to 2026. Granted 13.1%, denied 31.9%, remanded 55.0%.
• Nine codes, DC 5205 through DC 5213 in 38 CFR § 4.71a, cover the elbow. Rating appeals most often run through DC 5206 (flexion), DC 5213 (forearm rotation) and DC 5207 (extension).
• Normal elbow motion for VA is 0 to 145 degrees. Flexion limited to 100 degrees or extension limited to 45 degrees is the 10 percent level, and a painful elbow with full motion can still reach 10 percent under 38 CFR § 4.59.
• Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) have no code of their own and are rated on the motion they cost you.
• At 30 percent and above, the dominant arm rates 10 points higher. At 20 percent and below, both arms rate the same (38 CFR § 4.69 decides which arm is dominant).
• A missing current diagnosis is the element the Board most often found not shown when it denied elbow service connection, and an inadequate exam or opinion is the most common reason it sent claims back.
• The highest ratings require ankylosis (DC 5205), a flail joint (DC 5209) or nonunion of both forearm bones with a flail false joint (DC 5210).

Elbow VA rating chart (DC 5205 to 5213)

VA rates the elbow and forearm under nine codes in 38 CFR § 4.71a (opens in a new tab). Each level carries two numbers: one for your dominant arm (the schedule says "major") and one for the other arm ("minor"). The 2021 rewrite of the musculoskeletal schedule did not change these codes (Citation A25004171).

Normal motion, which the Board takes from Plate I in 38 CFR § 4.71, is 0 degrees of extension to 145 degrees of flexion, with forearm pronation (turning the palm down) from 0 to 80 degrees and supination (turning the palm up) from 0 to 85 degrees (Citations A25001508 and A25015368). Every limit below is measured against those numbers.

Flexion and extension (DC 5206, 5207 and 5208)

Flexion is how far the elbow bends, so a lower number is worse. Extension is how far it straightens, measured as the angle it stops short of straight, so a higher number is worse. The levels under DC 5206 and DC 5207 line up like this.

DC 5208 gives 20 percent for either arm when flexion is limited to 100 degrees and extension to 45 degrees at the same time, a combination each code alone would rate at 10 percent.

Ankylosis, flail joint and nonunion (DC 5205, 5209 and 5210)

• DC 5205, ankylosis (the elbow fixed in place): favorable, at an angle between 90 and 70 degrees, 40% dominant and 30% other; intermediate, at more than 90 degrees or between 70 and 50 degrees, 50% and 40%; unfavorable, at less than 50 degrees or with complete loss of supination or pronation, 60% and 50%.
• DC 5209, other impairment of the elbow: a flail joint, 60% and 50%; a joint fracture with marked cubitus varus or cubitus valgus deformity, or with an ununited fracture of the head of the radius, 20% for either arm.
• DC 5210, nonunion of the radius and ulna with a flail false joint: 50% and 40%.

These codes pay the most, and they describe an elbow that is fused, unstable or not healed.

Forearm bones and rotation (DC 5211, 5212 and 5213)

DC 5211 (the ulna) and DC 5212 (the radius) run from 10 percent for a malunion with bad alignment to 40 percent dominant (30 percent other) for a nonunion with false movement, loss of an inch (2.5 cm) or more of bone and marked deformity.

DC 5213 covers forearm rotation, dominant arm first.

• Limitation of supination to 30 degrees or less: 10% and 10%
• Limitation of pronation, motion lost beyond the last quarter of the arc (the hand does not approach full pronation): 20% and 20%
• Limitation of pronation, motion lost beyond the middle of the arc: 30% and 20%
• Bone fusion with the hand fixed near the middle of the arc or in moderate pronation: 20% and 20%
• Bone fusion with the hand fixed in full pronation: 30% and 20%
• Bone fusion with the hand fixed in supination or hyperpronation: 40% and 30%

One elbow can carry more than one rating when the losses are different. In a 2025 decision, a veteran's nondominant elbow carried 20 percent for limited flexion under DC 5206 and a separate 20 percent for limited pronation under DC 5213 (Citation A25015368). Impaired finger movement from tendon tie-up, muscle or nerve injury is also rated separately, up to the rating for loss of use of the hand. The rating calculator shows how separate ratings combine.

Tennis elbow and tendonitis VA rating

Tennis elbow is lateral epicondylitis, pain at the tendons on the outer elbow; golfer's elbow, or medial epicondylitis, is the same kind of problem on the inner side. Tennis elbow is the most common cause of elbow pain, it mainly comes from repeated gripping or wrist extension, and most cases settle on their own (PMID 32454922).

VA has no code named tennis elbow. Tendonitis, also spelled tendinitis, is covered by DC 5024 along with tenosynovitis, tendinosis and tendinopathy, and the schedule directs VA to evaluate it "as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of affected parts." So the rating comes from the elbow motion codes above. The X-ray-only arthritis ratings do not apply to DC 5024.

When the elbow still moves fully, the rating turns on pain. 38 CFR § 4.59 (opens in a new tab) recognizes "actually painful, unstable, or malaligned joints" as entitled to at least the minimum compensable rating for the joint, which for the elbow is 10 percent, and that applies beyond arthritis (Burton v. Shinseki, 25 Vet. App. 1 (2011)). In a January 2025 decision, a veteran's lateral and medial epicondylitis carried 10 percent under DC 5206 with full motion and pain, and the Board denied more because nothing approached flexion limited to 90 degrees or extension limited to 75 degrees (Citation A25001508). Getting above 10 percent takes measured motion loss, including the added loss an examiner estimates for flare-ups, which the elbow and forearm DBQ records.

If tendonitis affects another joint, the tendonitis and bursitis, shoulder, wrist, knee and ankle pages cover those ratings. You do not receive a separate tendonitis rating on top of a joint rating for the same lost motion.

Source: 38 CFR § 4.71a, DC 5024, its shared note, and DC 5003 Note (2) (opens in a new tab).

Dominant arm and the elbow rating

Under 38 CFR § 4.69 (opens in a new tab), handedness "will be determined by the evidence of record, or by testing on VA examination." Only one hand can be dominant. If you are ambidextrous, the injured hand, or the more severely injured one, counts as dominant.

In every elbow and forearm code, a level worth 30 percent or more for the dominant arm is worth 10 points less for the other arm, and levels of 20 percent or less pay the same for either arm. So an elbow rated at 10 or 20 percent gets nothing extra for being on your dominant side. Make sure the exam report says which hand you write and eat with.

How to prove an elbow condition is service connected

Direct service connection needs a current diagnosis, an in-service injury or event, and a medical link (nexus) between them.

Documented in-service injury or repetitive use. Service treatment records that show an elbow injury, treatment for tendinitis, or repeated complaints from lifting, gripping or tool work are the strongest starting point. If the records are thin, statements from you and people you served with can describe what happened.

A diagnosis the record supports. Tennis elbow is usually diagnosed on clinical examination, with imaging when another cause has to be ruled out (PMID 32454922). X-rays can show arthritis or fracture residuals, and nerve testing or imaging can help confirm cubital tunnel syndrome (PMID 37521554). Whatever the diagnosis, it has to match the condition you claim.

A nexus opinion that explains the link. An opinion that addresses the in-service injury, when the symptoms started and whether they continued, and how the one led to the other gives the Board something to rely on. The Board section below shows how elbow rulings went by the medical opinion the Board relied on.

Elbow conditions secondary to a service-connected condition

Under 38 CFR § 3.310 (opens in a new tab), an elbow condition is service connected when a service-connected condition caused it, or when it is aggravated by a service-connected condition, meaning it would be less severe but for that condition. Secondary elbow claims fared worse at the Board than direct ones; the Board section below shows direct, secondary and presumptive results. The usual theory is overuse, a service-connected arm on one side pushing extra work onto the other elbow, and the opinion has to describe how your use changed. An opinion that skips aggravation is inadequate (El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013)).

Arm pain and numbness from a service-connected neck condition is usually claimed as radiculopathy and rated under the nerve codes, not the elbow codes.

Cubital tunnel syndrome

Cubital tunnel syndrome is compression of the ulnar nerve at the elbow, the second most common nerve compression in the arm (PMID 28953087). VA rates it as a nerve condition under DC 8516 in 38 CFR § 4.124a (opens in a new tab), from 10 percent for mild incomplete paralysis to 60 percent (dominant arm) for complete paralysis, so it can sit alongside an elbow motion rating when the symptoms are different. The peripheral neuropathy page covers how VA grades nerve severity.

The elbow C&P exam

An inadequate VA exam or opinion was the most common reason the Board sent elbow claims back, and remand is the most common outcome on elbow appeals. The Board section below shows the remand reasons and what happened when legacy appeals came back to the Board after a remand.

A complete elbow exam, recorded on the elbow and forearm DBQ, should include these items.

• Flexion, extension, pronation and supination, each measured, with the point where pain begins.
• Testing for pain on active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, and against the opposite elbow if it is undamaged (Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016); § 4.59).
• Repetitive-use testing and the added loss from pain, weakness, fatigability or incoordination (DeLuca v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 202 (1995)).
• A flare-up estimate. If you are not in a flare at the exam, the examiner has to take your flare history and estimate the added loss of motion, or explain why that cannot be done (Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017)).
• Which arm is dominant, and any nerve findings if you have numbness or weakness in the hand.

Bring a short written history of your flares, what sets them off and how long they last.

Why VA denies elbow claims

When the Board denied elbow service connection, a missing current diagnosis was the element it most often found not shown, ahead of the in-service event and the nexus; the Board section below shows how often each part of the claim failed. The same gaps repeat.

Pain without a diagnosis. The record shows real, persistent elbow pain, but no fracture residuals, no arthritis on X-ray, no tendinitis on examination and no nerve finding. Pain alone can be a disability when it impairs earning capacity (Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2018)), but a record that shows neither a diagnosis nor measured functional loss leaves the Board nothing to grant on. A condition present at any point during the claim counts (McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319 (2007)), so treatment notes from that period matter, especially for tennis elbow, which often settles on its own.

A diagnosis that does not match the claim. You claim tennis elbow or golfer's elbow, and the records point to something else or to nothing specific. A specialist evaluation that names the condition and explains the findings closes that gap.

Severity short of the next level. Service connection holds, but the measured motion falls short of the level you asked for, and the exam never estimated flare-up losses. Appeals over the rating fared about as poorly as appeals over service connection; the Board section below shows results by what the appeal asked for and by diagnostic code.

Questions veterans ask about elbow conditions

What is the VA rating for tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow is rated on the motion it costs you under the elbow codes, starting at 10 percent for a painful elbow. Reaching 20 percent takes flexion limited to 90 degrees or extension limited to 75 degrees.

What is the VA rating for elbow pain with full range of motion?

Ten percent, if the exam documents pain on motion. Under 38 CFR § 4.59, an actually painful joint is entitled to at least the minimum compensable rating for that joint, and anything more needs measured loss of motion.

Does the dominant arm get a higher VA rating for the elbow?

Only at 30 percent and above, where the dominant arm rates 10 points higher. At 20 percent and below, both arms rate the same.

What is normal elbow range of motion for VA?

Zero degrees of extension to 145 degrees of flexion, with forearm pronation to 80 degrees and supination to 85 degrees, from Plate I in 38 CFR § 4.71. Your measured limits are compared against those numbers.

Can one elbow get two VA ratings?

Yes, when the ratings cover different losses, such as limited flexion under DC 5206 and limited pronation under DC 5213. The same lost motion cannot be rated twice (38 CFR § 4.14).

Bottom Line

Elbow conditions rate under DC 5205 through DC 5213 in 38 CFR § 4.71a, measured against normal motion of 0 to 145 degrees. Tennis elbow and other tendinitis rate on the motion they cost, with 10 percent available for a painful elbow under § 4.59 and 20 percent needing flexion limited to 90 degrees or extension limited to 75. The dominant arm rates higher only at 30 percent and above. Across 8,016 decided Board rulings on elbow conditions, 13.1% were granted, the lowest of the orthopedic conditions on this site, and remand was the most common outcome. The claims that hold up have a diagnosis the records support, an in-service record of the injury or overuse, an opinion that explains the link, and an exam that measures every direction of motion and estimates flare-up losses. Higher ratings require ankylosis, a flail joint or a nonunion.

Methodology and Limitations

• Data source: 38 CFR § 4.71a DC 5205 through DC 5213, DC 5024 and DC 5003, checked against the eCFR text current to October 2, 2026; normal motion from Plate I of § 4.71 as the Board quotes it; §§ 4.14, 4.40, 4.45, 4.59 and 4.69; DC 8516 in § 4.124a; § 3.310 for secondary service connection. Case law and Board decisions are cited where used; medical statements come from the PubMed abstracts cited by PMID.
• Sample size: 511,036 Board decisions from 2021 to 2026 containing 1,378,030 rulings, including 8,016 decided Board rulings on elbow conditions (8,752 rulings in all, counting dismissed and withdrawn issues). Outcomes split granted 13.1% (1,051), denied 31.9% (2,555), remanded 55.0% (4,410). The Board section on this page breaks these down by denial reason, remand reason, outcome after a remand, appeal type, medical opinion, claim theory, diagnostic code and era; those figures are computed from the data, not typed here.
• Limitations: The dataset captures BVA-level decisions. Elbow claims granted at the regional office without appeal aren't in the sample. Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) are rated under DC 5024 or directly under the elbow codes, and the dataset's coding may classify some of these cases differently. Flare-up estimates and painful-motion testing vary from exam to exam. Board decisions cited as examples bind only those appeals, and the medical studies describe groups of people, not any one veteran. These observations describe BVA patterns and are not predictions of individual outcomes, and Claim Raven is data analysis, not legal, medical, or VA-accredited advice.