Shoulder VA rating
The VA rates shoulder under DC 5201, and most ratings land in the 10–40% range. What decides yours is the criteria below and what your record actually documents.
What the criteria ask for at each level
DC 5201 — 38 CFR §4.71a
| Rating | What the record has to show |
|---|---|
| 20% | Arm motion limited to shoulder level (dominant or non-dominant). |
| 30% / 20% | Motion limited to midway between side and shoulder (dominant / non-dominant). |
| 40% / 30% | Motion limited to 25° from the side (dominant / non-dominant). |
| 10% | Painful motion that doesn't meet the thresholds can still rate via the arthritis pathway (DC 5003). |
The schedule's own words
Ratings turn on specific terms, and a record that describes the same reality in different language often reads as a lower rating. These are the words this code measures:
- limitation of motion of the arm
- at shoulder level
- dominant (major) arm
- painful motion
Evidence that moves this rating
- Goniometer-measured range of motion
- X-ray or MRI showing the joint condition
What your statement has to cover
Doctors chart symptoms; they rarely chart consequences. That part is yours, and it is usually what separates a documented rating from a reported one.
- Say which arm is your DOMINANT arm — the same injury rates higher on it.
- Describe the exact ceiling: "I cannot raise my right arm above shoulder level without severe pain."
- If motion isn't limited enough, painful motion + X-ray arthritis still earns 10% (DC 5003).
Our Statement Builderwalks through the questions that produce that kind of statement, in the schedule's own terms.
What shoulder can lead to2 documented pathways
A secondary claim runs through a condition the VA already accepts, so the argument about your service is already won. What is left is the medical link — and a nexus opinion has to name the mechanism, not just the pair.
| Can lead to | The mechanism a nexus has to state |
|---|---|
| GERD (acid reflux) | Long-term NSAID / pain-medication use damages the stomach lining, causing reflux. |
| Depression | Chronic pain and lost lifting/reaching function degrade mental health. |
A pathway existing in the literature is not the same as your claim being granted — your records and the VA decide that. How secondary claims work covers the argument.
Before you spend money on this claim
VA ratings do not add. Each new rating applies only to the part of you the VA still counts as unimpaired, then rounds to the nearest ten — so from 70%, a new 10% condition leaves you at exactly 70% and changes your payment by nothing.
That does not make the claim worthless; it can still matter for TDIU, for SMC, or later when something else is added. But it is worth knowing before you pay for a nexus letter rather than after. Check what one more condition does at your rating — it takes a minute.