Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, which means a person's own immune system attacks the lining of the joints, causing pain, swelling, and stiffness over time. The VA recognizes it as a ratable condition under 38 CFR § 4.71a. To be service-connected, the evidence generally needs to show a current diagnosis, something in service linked to it, and a connection between the two.

The VA rates rheumatoid arthritis under Diagnostic Code 5002. As of a 2021 update, that code is titled "multi-joint arthritis … as an active process" and lists rheumatoid arthritis among the inflammatory forms of arthritis it covers. There are two ways to evaluate it, and the VA uses whichever gives the higher rating: one looks at how active and severe the disease is, including whole-body (constitutional) symptoms like weight loss and anemia and how often flare-ups happen during the year; the other rates the lasting joint damage by the limitation of motion or stiffness (ankylosis) in the affected joints. The VA does not combine the two approaches — it assigns the higher result.

It helps to know that this is treated differently from ordinary wear-and-tear arthritis. That common form, called degenerative arthritis or osteoarthritis, falls under a separate code (Diagnostic Code 5003) and is rated mainly on X-ray findings and limited motion, not on an active autoimmune disease process.

This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work — not legal advice, not a VA decision, and not a prediction about any individual claim. Outcomes depend on your own facts and evidence; a denial can be appealed.