Shoulder Pain VA Rating

Limitation of motion of the arm, DC 5201, was the seventh most common service-connected disability in VA's fiscal year 2024 Annual Benefits Report, with 1,200,103 ratings. It also carries a trap that catches many veterans: there is no 10 percent level. The rating starts at 20 percent, and only when flexion or abduction is limited to 90 degrees, shoulder level.

So a shoulder that hurts, shows a torn tendon on MRI and still lifts above shoulder level gets nothing under DC 5201. The ways past that floor are what this page covers: arthritis under DC 5003, motion lost with repeated use and during flare-ups, instability and dislocation under DC 5202, and nerve findings from the neck that are rated on their own. I also cover the dominant-arm rule, the exam, why claims are denied and the secondary claims that involve the shoulder.

TL;DR

• Across 33,094 decided Board rulings on shoulder conditions from 2021 to 2026, 17.3% were granted, 28.3% denied and 54.3% remanded. The grant rate is 7.4 points below the Board-wide 24.7 percent, and remand is the most common outcome.
• The shoulder is rated under four codes in 38 CFR § 4.71a: DC 5200 (ankylosis), DC 5201 (limitation of motion), DC 5202 (other impairment of the humerus, including recurrent dislocation) and DC 5203 (clavicle or scapula). A shoulder replacement is rated under DC 5051.
• DC 5201: 20% for either arm at shoulder level (90 degrees); 30% dominant or 20% non-dominant at 45 degrees; 40% dominant or 30% non-dominant at 25 degrees from the side.
• Degenerative arthritis confirmed by X-ray can rate 10% under DC 5003 when limited motion is objectively confirmed but too mild for DC 5201.
• The exam has to account for pain, repeated use and flare-ups, and test active and passive motion and your other shoulder where possible (DeLuca, Correia and Sharp).
• Shoulder weakness from a pinched nerve in the neck is rated as radiculopathy under DC 8510, not under the shoulder codes.

Shoulder VA rating criteria: DC 5200 to 5203

38 CFR § 4.71a rates the shoulder and arm under four codes. Each lists two percentages: "major" for your dominant arm and "minor" for the other. Under 38 CFR § 4.69, handedness "will be determined by the evidence of record, or by testing on VA examination." Only one hand is considered dominant, and for an ambidextrous veteran, "the injured hand, or the most severely injured hand" counts as dominant. Here are the codes as they read in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) in October 2026, written as major / minor.

DC 5200, ankylosis of the scapulohumeral articulation

Note: The scapula and humerus move as one piece.

Unfavorable, abduction limited to 25° from side: 50 / 40

Intermediate between favorable and unfavorable: 40 / 30

Favorable, abduction to 60°, can reach mouth and head: 30 / 20

Ankylosis means the joint is fixed, and it is rare in shoulder claims. The note explains why even the favorable level allows abduction to 60 degrees: with the joint fused, the arm moves with the shoulder blade.

DC 5201, limitation of motion of the arm

Flexion and/or abduction limited to 25° from side: 40 / 30

Midway between side and shoulder level (flexion and/or abduction limited to 45°): 30 / 20

At shoulder level (flexion and/or abduction limited to 90°): 20 / 20

The next section covers this code in detail.

DC 5202, other impairment of the humerus

Loss of head of (flail shoulder): 80 / 70

Nonunion of (false flail joint): 60 / 50

Fibrous union of: 50 / 40

Recurrent dislocation of at scapulohumeral joint:

With frequent episodes and guarding of all arm movements: 30 / 20

With infrequent episodes and guarding of movement only at shoulder level (flexion and/or abduction at 90°): 20 / 20

Malunion of:

Marked deformity: 30 / 20

Moderate deformity: 20 / 20

Recurrent dislocation is the code for a shoulder that keeps coming out of joint after an in-service injury. The record needs the dislocation episodes and the guarding of arm movement the code describes.

DC 5203, impairment of the clavicle or scapula

Dislocation of: 20 / 20

Nonunion of:

With loose movement: 20 / 20

Without loose movement: 10 / 10

Malunion of: 10 / 10

Or rate on impairment of function of contiguous joint.

That last line means a healed collarbone or shoulder blade fracture that limits shoulder motion can be rated on the shoulder's limited motion instead.

DC 5051, shoulder replacement

A prosthetic shoulder rates 100 percent for one year after implantation. After that, chronic residuals "consisting of severe, painful motion or weakness in the affected extremity" rate 60 / 50, intermediate degrees of weakness, pain or limited motion are rated by analogy to DC 5200 and DC 5203, and the minimum rating is 30 / 20.

Shoulder range of motion VA rating (DC 5201)

DC 5201 looks at flexion (raising the arm forward) and abduction (raising it out to the side); limitation of either one to the listed level is enough. Here is the chart with the monthly payment for a veteran with no dependents at the rates effective December 1, 2025 (the 2026 rates).

• At shoulder level, 90 degrees: 20 percent for either arm ($356.66).
• Midway between side and shoulder level, 45 degrees: 30 percent for the dominant arm ($552.47), 20 percent for the other ($356.66).
• 25 degrees from the side: 40 percent for the dominant arm ($795.84), 30 percent for the other ($552.47).

At the midway level, dominance alone is worth about $196 a month. That is why the record should say plainly which hand you write and eat with.

No 10 percent level, and where a rating can still come from

If your arm still rises above shoulder level, DC 5201 pays nothing, however much it hurts. Two rules can still reach a rating.

Arthritis under DC 5003. For degenerative arthritis established by X-ray, the regulation says: "When however, the limitation of motion of the specific joint or joints involved is noncompensable under the appropriate diagnostic codes, a rating of 10 pct is for application for each such major joint or group of minor joints affected by limitation of motion." The shoulder is a major joint under 38 CFR § 4.45. The limited motion "must be objectively confirmed by findings such as swelling, muscle spasm, or satisfactory evidence of painful motion," so an X-ray report and an exam that records painful motion both matter.

Painful motion under § 4.59. The regulation states "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." How that applies to your shoulder is the rater's call, but it is the reason painful motion should be documented even when your arm clears 90 degrees.

Pain, flare-ups and repeated use

The other way under the 90-degree line is motion lost to pain, repeated use or flares. Three regulations and three decisions of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims set what the exam has to capture.

38 CFR § 4.40 says functional loss "may be due to pain, supported by adequate pathology and evidenced by the visible behavior of the claimant undertaking the motion," and that "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 directs the rater to weakened movement, excess fatigability, incoordination and pain on movement, among other factors.

38 CFR § 4.59 ends with a testing instruction: "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."

DeLuca v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 202 (1995). A shoulder case. As the Court later summarized it, a joints exam that fails to consider the §§ 4.40 and 4.45 factors is inadequate, and the examiner's view on whether pain could significantly limit function should, if feasible, be stated as the added range-of-motion loss due to pain on use or during flare-ups.

Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016). In a knee case, the Court held that the last sentence of § 4.59 is a requirement: the exam must include that testing (pain on active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, and of the opposite undamaged joint where possible) whenever it can be done. The Court left it to medical professionals to say whether a given test can be performed on the joint at issue. For a shoulder, the opposite joint is your other shoulder, if it is healthy.

Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017). Also about shoulders, among other joints. When the exam does not happen during a flare, the examiner has to ask about your flares (how often, how long, how severe and what you lose during them) and estimate the added loss from all the evidence, including what you report, or explain why that cannot be done. The examiner and the Board do not have to accept flare reports that conflict with other reliable evidence.

Here is how that plays out. Suppose your arm rises to 120 degrees on the first try, and after repeated motion pain stops it at 90. An exam that records the 90 gives the rater a basis for 20 percent under DC 5201. An exam that records only the first measurement, or declines a flare estimate without asking about your flares, leaves the 120 as the only number.

Rotator cuff, impingement and labral tears

The shoulder codes in § 4.71a do not name rotator cuff tears, impingement or labral tears. The rating follows what the condition does to the shoulder: limited motion under DC 5201, recurrent dislocation under DC 5202, or arthritis under DC 5003 if X-rays show it. A tear on MRI proves the diagnosis; the percentage still comes from the measurements and the history.

For impingement and most rotator cuff claims, the motion numbers decide the rating, so the repeated-use and flare findings above matter most. For a labral tear with a shoulder that keeps dislocating, the dislocation history is what DC 5202 rates, so get each episode into the record: emergency visits, reductions and the guarding of arm movement your doctor notes. Rotator cuff injury covers that diagnosis in more depth.

How to prove a shoulder condition is service connected

Direct service connection means the evidence shows your shoulder condition was incurred in service (38 CFR § 3.303). In practice that takes three things.

• A current diagnosis. A named diagnosis such as a rotator cuff tear, impingement, a labral tear or arthritis, with the imaging behind it.
• An injury or event in service. Service treatment records for a fall, a vehicle accident, a parachute landing, a training injury or years of overhead work. When the records are thin, buddy statements and your own personal statement fill in what happened and how the shoulder has been since.
• A medical link. An opinion that addresses the specific in-service event, the course of your symptoms and how the two connect. A generic "at least as likely as not" with no engagement with the in-service injury tends to fail. Nexus letters covers what the opinion needs.

Arthritis is on VA's list of chronic diseases (38 CFR § 3.309(a)). If it shows up in the shoulder to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year after separation, and you served 90 days or more of continuous active service (38 CFR § 3.307), VA presumes it is service connected.

The shoulder can also be a secondary condition. VA's own claims manual uses a shoulder as its example of secondary causation: a veteran's early radiculopathy symptoms caused a fall that tore the rotator cuff, and a medical opinion linking the tear to the fall, and the fall to the radiculopathy, satisfied secondary service connection even though the radiculopathy was diagnosed and service connected later (M21-1 V.ii.2.D.1.b).

The shoulder C&P exam

The shoulder and arm DBQ guide walks through the questionnaire. Ask the examiner to record these findings.

• Flexion, abduction, and external and internal rotation, with the point where pain begins. Under 38 CFR § 4.71, shoulder rotation is measured with the arm abducted to 90 degrees and the elbow flexed to 90 degrees.
• Pain on active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing where it can be done, and your other shoulder for comparison if it is healthy, as § 4.59 and Correia call for.
• Motion after repeated use, and whether pain, weakness, fatigability or incoordination reduced it.
• Your flares: how often, how long, what triggers them and what you cannot do during one, with an estimate of the added loss, as Sharp requires.
• Any dislocation history and guarding of arm movement.
• Which hand is dominant.
• If pain runs down the arm with numbness or weakness, a nerve exam, so findings from the neck are not missed.

Bring X-ray and MRI reports, physical therapy notes with measured motion and records of any dislocations. A symptom tracker log of your flares gives you specific answers, and C&P exam prep helps you describe your limits without minimizing or exaggerating.

Why VA denies shoulder claims

Shoulder claims are granted less often than the Board average, and the reasons repeat. The Board section below shows how the Board ruled on these appeals.

The arm still rises above shoulder level. DC 5201 pays nothing above 90 degrees. The fix: an exam that records repeated-use and flare loss, an X-ray if arthritis is suspected (DC 5003), and painful motion on the record (§ 4.59).

No in-service injury on record. The fix: service treatment records, buddy statements and a personal statement on when the shoulder problems began.

A generic nexus opinion. An opinion that never engages with the in-service event carries little weight. The fix: a private opinion that addresses the specific injury, the symptom history and the competing explanations.

The exam skipped testing. No repeated use, no flare estimate, no passive motion, no comparison with the other shoulder. The fix: ask for a new exam citing §§ 4.40, 4.45 and 4.59, DeLuca, Correia and Sharp.

The wrong arm treated as dominant. The fix: make sure the record states your dominant hand, since § 4.69 lets the evidence of record or VA testing decide it.

Dislocations not documented. The fix: get each episode, reduction and the resulting guarding into the record for DC 5202.

Neck symptoms rated as a shoulder problem. The fix: a nerve exam and a claim for radiculopathy if the weakness comes from the neck.

Shoulder secondary claims and the neck

The shoulder and the neck overlap. DC 8510 covers the upper radicular group, the fifth and sixth cervical nerve roots, and complete paralysis of that group means "all shoulder and elbow movements lost or severely affected, hand and wrist movements not affected." Shoulder weakness that comes from a pinched nerve in the neck is rated as radiculopathy under 38 CFR § 4.124a, not under the shoulder joint codes. Mild incomplete paralysis of that group rates 20 percent for either arm, and the higher grades pay more for the dominant arm. If you have both neck and shoulder problems, claim both and make sure the exam separates joint findings from nerve findings; see cervical spine and radiculopathy.

Under 38 CFR § 3.310, a shoulder condition caused by another service-connected condition, like the fall in VA's manual example above, is service connected too. Aggravation counts as well: a shoulder condition aggravated by the veteran's service-connected condition, meaning it would be less severe but for that condition (M21-1 V.ii.2.D), qualifies. VA rates only the part above the baseline (the current level minus a baseline shown by medical evidence), so the opinion should describe the baseline. VA's current manual no longer subtracts natural progress in these claims, even though the text of § 3.310(b) still mentions it, and the worsening does not have to be permanent. An opinion that addresses only causation and not aggravation is inadequate (El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013)).

When both shoulders are rated, the bilateral factor in 38 CFR § 4.26 applies. With each shoulder at 20 percent, the two combine to 36 under 38 CFR § 4.25; adding 10 percent of that value (3.6) gives 39.6, which counts as 40 percent. For a veteran with no dependents, that is $795.84 a month against $356.66 for one shoulder.

Questions veterans ask about shoulder ratings

What is the VA rating for shoulder range of motion?

Under DC 5201, flexion or abduction limited to 90 degrees (shoulder level) rates 20 percent, limited to 45 degrees rates 30 percent for the dominant arm and 20 for the other, and limited to 25 degrees from the side rates 40 and 30.

Can I get a VA rating if I can raise my arm above shoulder level?

Not under DC 5201 on that measurement alone. Motion lost after repeated use or during flares can bring it under 90 degrees, and X-ray-confirmed degenerative arthritis with objectively confirmed limited motion can rate 10 percent under DC 5003.

Does my dominant arm get a higher shoulder rating?

Yes, at the 30 and 40 percent levels of DC 5201 and most levels of DC 5200 and DC 5202. Under 38 CFR § 4.69, dominance is decided by the evidence of record or by testing on VA examination.

What is the VA rating for shoulder impingement or a rotator cuff tear?

There is no separate code for either. VA rates the shoulder on its motion under DC 5201, on dislocation under DC 5202 or on X-ray arthritis under DC 5003, so the exam findings set the percentage.

What is the VA rating for arm injuries?

It depends on the joint or nerve injured. The shoulder is rated under DC 5200 through DC 5203, the elbow and forearm under their own codes starting at DC 5205, and nerve injuries under 38 CFR § 4.124a.

What is the VA rating for a shoulder replacement?

DC 5051 rates 100 percent for one year after the prosthesis is implanted. After that, severe painful motion or weakness rates 60 percent for the dominant arm or 50 for the other, and the minimum is 30 or 20.

Bottom Line

Shoulder conditions are rated under DC 5200 through DC 5203, and DC 5201 starts at 20 percent only when flexion or abduction is limited to shoulder level. The dominant arm rates 10 points higher at the 30 and 40 percent levels. A shoulder that still rises above 90 degrees can reach a rating through X-ray-confirmed arthritis under DC 5003, through motion lost with repeated use and flares when the exam records it, or through recurrent dislocation under DC 5202. DeLuca, Correia and Sharp set what a complete exam includes. Weakness that comes from the neck belongs under the nerve codes, where DC 8510 can rate 20 percent even with preserved shoulder motion.

Methodology and Limitations

• Data source: Rating criteria are quoted from 38 CFR § 4.71a (DC 5003, DC 5051 and DC 5200 through DC 5203) and 38 CFR § 4.124a (DC 8510), as published in eCFR, retrieved October 6, 2026. Measurement and functional loss rules are from 38 CFR §§ 4.40, 4.45, 4.59, 4.69 and 4.71, DeLuca v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 202 (1995), Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016), and Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017). Service connection rules are from 38 CFR §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 and 3.310 and M21-1 V.ii.2.D (change date May 1, 2026). Combined rating math follows 38 CFR §§ 4.25 and 4.26. The 1,200,103 count is from VA's fiscal year 2024 Annual Benefits Report. Board figures come from Claim Raven's read of every Board decision from 2021 to 2026 that it holds: 511,036 decisions containing 1,378,030 rulings.
• Sample size: Of 35,977 Board rulings on shoulder conditions, 33,094 were decided (granted, denied or remanded). Across 33,094 decided Board rulings on shoulder conditions from 2021 to 2026, 17.3% were granted, 28.3% denied and 54.3% remanded. Of those, 23,058 were about service connection (grant rate 15.2%), 7,324 were about the rating itself (12.8%), and 2,712 were about other issues (48.0%). The data does not code denial reasons or the rating tier granted.
• Limitations: The dataset captures BVA-level decisions. Shoulder claims granted at the regional office without appeal are not in the sample. The dominant-versus-non-dominant distinction depends on documentation of the veteran's actual dominance. Application of the functional loss rules still varies with the examiner's documentation, and Correia was decided on knees; this page states its holding as the Court wrote it. VA's report counts disabilities rather than veterans. These observations describe BVA patterns and are not predictions of individual outcomes. Claim Raven is data analysis, not legal, medical, or VA-accredited advice. If you need help with a shoulder claim, work with an accredited representative.