Diagnostic Codes 5260 / 5261

Knee — Limitation of Flexion

The second most common first-time VA disability claim in the country. Everything here covers the Knee and Lower Leg DBQ and what it takes for that exam to support the rating your knee actually warrants.

Filing a knee claim: the sequence How the ITF, the DBQ, and the 526EZ fit together for a knee-flexion claim specifically. Understanding your Knee DBQ What the Knee and Lower Leg DBQ measures, and why each field maps directly to your rating. C&P exam prep — veteran What actually gets tested, and what veterans routinely underreport without meaning to. C&P exam prep — caregiver What to observe day to day, and how to turn it into evidence VA can actually use. For clinicians Completing the Knee DBQ — for physicians For private physicians: how to complete the DBQ so it holds up as adequate for rating purposes. Interactive tool Knee DBQ Decoder Enter your exam findings for a plain-language rating estimate and a check for the gaps that quietly lower a rating.

Before your exam

Make sure you have the current form

VA revises Disability Benefits Questionnaires periodically, and an examiner who completes a superseded version can have the exam sent back. VA no longer prints form numbers on DBQs — it lists them by title — so the way to check is the small line in the bottom-right corner of every page.

The current Knee and Lower Leg DBQ, as of September 2026, reads Updated on: 2025-10-06 (v25_1) and runs 15 pages. If the copy your provider is using shows an older date, download a fresh one: VA's official copy.

Don't rely on a date cutoff alone — some DBQs are revised rarely and legitimately carry older dates. Compare against what VA publishes today rather than against a particular year. This questionnaire was formerly issued as VA Form 21-0960M-9; that number is no longer printed on the form, so don't be thrown if you can't find it.