Abstract The linear and angular compliance models for a class of statically indeterminate symmetric (SIS) flexure structures are established in this paper. Compared with a single flexure hinge, the SIS flexure structure is free of parasitic motions when a force or moment is applied. Thus, it can be treated as an ideal prismatic or revolute joint according to its load status. However, due to the inevitable axial tension, the load–deflection relationship of the SIS structure is nonlinear. Computational analyses are performed to investigate the influence of the axial tension. Computational results reveal that within small deflection range, the nonlinearity is very small and the axial tension can be neglected. In micro/nano scale applications, the motion range can be regarded as infinitesimal when compared with the dimension of the overall structure. Therefore, the influence of the axial tension would become negligible, and the analytical compliance models of the SIS structure are established using the integration of flexible beam. Compared with computational results, large modeling errors occur in the analytical models for the SIS structure with thick and short flexure hinges. Based on the observations from the error analyses, an error model is established and incorporated into the analytical compliance models to function as an error compensator. Utilizing the error compensator, the modeling accuracy of the compliance models can be improved, which is validated by the experimental results on a flexure-based mechanism.