38 CFR Part 4 — 38 CFR § 4.71a

Hallux valgus, unilateral — VA Diagnostic Code 5280

Musculoskeletal

Diagnostic code

5280

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38 CFR § 4.71a lists Diagnostic Code 5280 in the table captioned “The Foot.” The title is “Hallux valgus, unilateral:”. Operated with resection of the metatarsal head is 10. Severe, if equivalent to amputation of the great toe, is 10. Neither line ends with a period. Appendix B to Part 4 indexes “Hallux valgus.” and does not say “unilateral.”

Reviewed 2026-10-05. Text checked against the eCFR versioner full-text XML for 2026-10-01 on 2026-10-05. Title 38 was up to date as of 2026-10-01 and last amended on 2026-08-27. The § 4.71a source note prints 29 FR 6718, May 22, 1964, as amended at 34 FR 5062, Mar. 11, 1969; 40 FR 42536, Sept. 15, 1975; 41 FR 11294, Mar. 18, 1976; 43 FR 45350, Oct. 2, 1978; 51 FR 6411, Feb. 24, 1986; 61 FR 20439, May 7, 1996; 67 FR 48785, July 26, 2002; 67 FR 54349, Aug. 22, 2002; 68 FR 51456, Aug. 27, 2003; 69 FR 32450, June 10, 2004; 80 FR 42041, July 16, 2015; 85 FR 76460, Nov. 30, 2020, 85 FR 85523, Dec. 29, 2020, 86 FR 8142, Feb. 4, 2021. The § 4.69 source note prints 62 FR 30239, June 3, 1997. The § 4.63 source note prints 29 FR 6718, May 22, 1964, as amended at 43 FR 45349, Oct. 2, 1978. The § 4.71 source note prints 29 FR 6718, May 22, 1964, as amended at 43 FR 45349, Oct. 2, 1978; 67 FR 48785, July 26, 2002. The § 4.26 source note prints 29 FR 6718, May 22, 1964, as amended at 88 FR 22917, Apr. 14, 2023.

The rating criteria at each level

5280 Hallux valgus, unilateral

Rating %: 10

Criteria (verbatim). Operated with resection of metatarsal head

Rating %: 10

Criteria (verbatim). Severe, if equivalent to amputation of great toe

Rating %	Criteria (verbatim)
10	Operated with resection of metatarsal head
10	Severe, if equivalent to amputation of great toe

Both lines are 10. The title says “unilateral.” The table does not print a bilateral hallux valgus percentage.

Neither criteria line ends with a period. The title ends with a colon.

The Foot table has one Rating column. It does not split Major and Minor.

DC 5171 is “Toe, great, amputation of:”. With removal of the metatarsal head it is 30. Without metatarsal involvement it is 10. The DC 5280 severe line says “if equivalent to amputation of great toe” and prints 10. It does not say “with removal of metatarsal head,” and it does not cite DC 5171. The other DC 5280 line, resection of the metatarsal head, is also 10. That is an operated hallux valgus line, not the DC 5171 amputation line.

DC 5281 says to rate unilateral severe hallux rigidus as hallux valgus, severe. The note under DC 5281 says: “Not to be combined with claw foot ratings.” That note is printed on DC 5281. It is not printed on DC 5280. DC 5278 is acquired claw foot. DC 5282 is hammer toe. 38 CFR § 4.7 assigns the higher rating when the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating. Otherwise, the lower rating will be assigned. 38 CFR § 4.6 requires each element affecting the evidence to be studied so that decisions will be equitable and just. 38 CFR § 4.14 says the evaluation of the same disability under various diagnoses is to be avoided. The same section says the evaluation of the same manifestation under different diagnoses are to be avoided.

38 CFR § 4.26 is the bilateral factor for compensable disability of paired extremities. DC 5280’s title says “unilateral” and does not print a bilateral line. The section is a separate rule. The DC 5280 row does not cite it.

The code prints no 0 percent line. 38 CFR § 4.31 says that in every instance where the schedule does not provide a zero percent evaluation for a diagnostic code, a zero percent evaluation shall be assigned when the requirements for a compensable evaluation are not met.

Source: 38 CFR § 4.71a, Diagnostic Code 5280, eCFR full-text XML for 2026-10-01.

What the words mean in your records

Two different 10 percent lines

One line is “Operated with resection of metatarsal head.” The other is “Severe, if equivalent to amputation of great toe.” Both print 10. The schedule does not add them together on this row.

Unilateral is in the title

The rating title says “Hallux valgus, unilateral:”. Appendix B says “Hallux valgus.” and drops “unilateral.”

Great-toe amputation is a different code

DC 5171 prints 30 with removal of the metatarsal head and 10 without metatarsal involvement. DC 5280’s severe line uses the words “equivalent to amputation of great toe” and prints 10. It does not cite DC 5171.

Evidence that speaks to each level

10, operated

What the rater needs to see. Unilateral hallux valgus operated with resection of the metatarsal head.

Where that usually lives. The operative record and the examination of the great toe.

10, severe

What the rater needs to see. Severe unilateral hallux valgus, if equivalent to amputation of the great toe, which is the second DC 5280 line.

Where that usually lives. The examination that describes that equivalence. The line does not cite DC 5171.

Level	What the rater needs to see	Where that usually lives
10, operated	Unilateral hallux valgus operated with resection of the metatarsal head.	The operative record and the examination of the great toe.
10, severe	Severe unilateral hallux valgus, if equivalent to amputation of the great toe, which is the second DC 5280 line.	The examination that describes that equivalence. The line does not cite DC 5171.

VA’s public DBQ list, checked October 5, 2026, names “Foot Conditions Including Flatfoot (Pes Planus)” under Musculoskeletal. The file is Foot Conditions Including Flatfoot (Pes Planus).

The exam form

DC 5280 prints 10 on each of two lines. This page does not say the foot form replaces either line.

Related codes and how they interact

Hallux rigidus points back to the severe line.

DC 5281 is “Hallux rigidus, unilateral, severe:” and says to rate it as hallux valgus, severe. That is the second DC 5280 line, which is 10. The DC 5281 note says not to combine hallux rigidus with claw foot ratings.

Secondary conditions and presumptions

The 2026-10-01 text of 38 CFR § 3.309 does not contain “hallux.” DC 5280 is a rating-schedule line.

A separate question, when a presumption does not decide it, is a medical question on the facts under 38 CFR § 3.310. Paragraph (a) covers disability proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. Paragraph (b) covers increase in severity and requires a medical baseline.

Short answers

How does VA rate unilateral hallux valgus under DC 5280?

Under 38 CFR § 4.71a, both the operated line and the severe line are 10 percent. Education only. VA decides on the evidence.

What does Appendix B call this code?

Appendix B indexes “Hallux valgus.” The rating title adds “unilateral” and ends with a colon.

FAQ

What percentages does DC 5280 print?

10 for hallux valgus operated with resection of the metatarsal head, and 10 for severe hallux valgus if equivalent to amputation of the great toe. The title says unilateral. Education only.

Does resection of the metatarsal head use the great-toe amputation code?

DC 5171 is amputation of the great toe: 30 with removal of the metatarsal head, and 10 without metatarsal involvement. DC 5280’s operated line is “Operated with resection of metatarsal head” at 10. The schedule does not say that line is DC 5171.

Where is the claw-foot note?

“Not to be combined with claw foot ratings” is the note under DC 5281, hallux rigidus. It is not printed on the DC 5280 row. Claw foot is DC 5278.

Next steps

Read the decision for DC 5280 and which of the two 10 percent lines it used.
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Other musculoskeletal codes are on the musculoskeletal diagnostic-code index. The foot page is the foot guide.

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Other codes in this body system

Nearby catalog entries in Musculoskeletal, ordered by diagnostic code number. All Musculoskeletal codes

Also: DC code lookup (tools) lists the same index in a compact layout.

Source: 38 CFR Part 4, Diagnostic Code 5280 • va.gov

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