Two sources print the same schedule, and neither one is vague. For readers in Itasca managing diabetes, the useful part is what the exam is said to include, because "foot exam" can mean a quick glance or a thorough check.
The answer in print
Once a year, at a minimum. Cleveland Clinic says at least once a year, get a thorough foot exam, called a diabetes foot exam, including a check of the feeling and pulses in your feet.
The CDC says the same thing in fewer words: get yearly comprehensive foot exams.
Two words doing the work
"At least" makes once a year a floor. "Thorough" and "comprehensive" describe the scope, and Cleveland Clinic names two parts of it: the feeling in your feet and the pulses in your feet.
If your last visit did not include those checks, it may not have been the exam these sources describe.
Reading on the exam and on neuropathy
See the MedlinePlus page on the diabetic foot and the AFP article on assessing the diabetic foot for signs of neuropathy.
What to confirm, and with whom
Ask your primary care clinician or foot specialist when your last yearly exam happened and whether it covered feeling and pulses. If you cannot find the date, treat that as a reason to book one.
The clause people skip
"At least" is easy to read past. Yearly is the minimum these sources set, so a clinician who wants to see you more often than that is not contradicting them.