Diagnostic Code 5201

Shoulder & Arm — Limitation of Motion

Covers the Shoulder and Arm Conditions DBQ. Unlike the knee, a shoulder claim can end up rated under several different diagnostic codes depending on the underlying injury — which changes what the exam needs to document.

Filing a shoulder/arm claim: the sequence How the filing sequence works for a shoulder claim, and why the diagnostic code may not be the one you expect. Understanding your Shoulder and Arm DBQ What the Shoulder and Arm Conditions DBQ measures, why the dominant arm changes your rating, and why documented pain is worth 20 points. C&P exam prep — veteran What gets measured, why to speak up the moment it hurts, and the dislocation detail veterans most often leave out. C&P exam prep — caregiver What to watch for day to day, how to document guarding and dislocations, and how to turn it into evidence VA can use. For clinicians Completing the Shoulder DBQ — for physicians For private physicians: how to complete the Shoulder and Arm Conditions DBQ so it holds up as adequate for rating purposes. Interactive tool Shoulder DBQ Decoder Rating estimate, adequacy check, and a steer on whether your injury belongs under a different diagnostic code.

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VA revises Disability Benefits Questionnaires periodically, and an examiner who completes a superseded version can have the exam sent back.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 Shoulder and/or Arm DBQ, as of September 2026, reads Updated on: 2025-04-15 (v25_3) and runs 14 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-12; that number is no longer printed on the form, so don't be thrown if you can't find it.