Field reference for home inspectors and electricians — quick lookup of which replacement circuit breakers are safely approved for use in panels made by other manufacturers.

UL Classified Breaker Cross-Reference

Field safety rules of thumb

  1. Classified ≠ universal. Eaton's Type CL/CHQ classified breakers are limited to panels rated≤225A, 120/240V, with available short-circuit current ≤10 kA — they are not a blanket substitute for every panel of a given brand (Eaton brochure).
  2. Same-brand ≠ automatically compatible. Square D Homeline and QO use different busdesigns and their breakers are not interchangeable with each other despite sharing a brand(Breaker Hunters compatibility guide).
  3. "BR" vs "CL" matters for Eaton/Cutler-Hammer. Standard BR breakers are listed only for BRpanels; the CL and CHQ series are Eaton's dedicated classified lines for competitors' panels.
  4. Legacy panel brands (FPE Stab-Lok, Zinsco, Pushmatic, Challenger, Wadsworth) warrant abroader safety note in the report — modern ETL-listed replacement breakers addressavailability, but many of these panel types have their own documented history ofbreaker/bus defects independent of which breaker is installed.
  5. When in doubt, note in the report that a licensed electrician should confirm thebreaker/panel combination against the manufacturer's current compatibility list.