Before you begin. This procedure is general reference information, not professional advice. Equipment varies by manufacturer, model, and year. Always follow the documentation supplied with your equipment — where it differs from this page, follow the manufacturer. Verify that you have the tools, the working conditions, and the ability to do this task safely. If anything is unclear, if the equipment is damaged, or if the task exceeds your experience, stop and use a qualified professional. You are responsible for your own safety and for the outcome. This site accepts no liability for any loss, damage, or injury arising from the use of this information.
Specifications marked unverified could not be traced to a manufacturer source. Do not rely on them — obtain the value from your equipment documentation.
Summary
A GFCI receptacle is the outlet with the TEST and RESET buttons on its face, and it almost never protects only itself. CPSC describes a receptacle-type GFCI as protecting whatever is plugged into it and other electrical outlets further down stream in the branch circuit, and Leviton's own installation leaflet adds the part that catches people out: those protected outlets can be in different rooms. Nothing on the face of a protected outlet has to say which device controls it. That is why a dead outlet in the garage is so often a GFCI that tripped in the bathroom, and why people replace a working outlet, or call a trade, for a job that is one button press.
This page makes the map. You press TEST once, walk the building with a table lamp, write down every outlet that goes dark, put a label on each of them, and press RESET. It is a lamp, a list and a sheet of stickers, and it needs no cover plate removed, no wire touched and no tool other than a pen. It does not cover the monthly test of whether the device still works — that is a separate job with its own page — and it does not cover a GFCI that refuses to reset. It prints no voltage, no current and no trip threshold, because a map needs none of them and this site does not publish a safety-critical number it cannot trace to a primary source.
Safety
TOUCH ONLY THE COVER PLATE AND THE BUTTONS OF A RECEPTACLE.
The parts in the electrical box have electrical power. Contact with them can cause a fatal electric shock.
DO NOT USE A RECEPTACLE THAT IS WET.
Water and electrical power together can cause a fatal electric shock.
Necessary equipment
| Item | Note |
|---|---|
| Table lamp | The lamp must give light before you start. |
| Paper and a pen | Write the list of receptacles on paper. |
| Flashlight optional | Some receptacles are in a space with little light. |
| GFCI PROTECTED OUTLET labels material | Put one label on each protected receptacle. |
Specifications
No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.
No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.
No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.
Prepare for the procedure
Estimated 11 min to 38 min
- Find a receptacle that has a TEST button and a RESET button.2mReport a problem with step 1, Prepare for the procedure
- Examine the receptacles in the bathroom, the kitchen and the garage.
- Examine the receptacles in the basement and outdoors.
- One building can have more than one GFCI receptacle.
- Write a list of every receptacle in the building.5mReport a problem with step 2, Prepare for the procedure
- Give the room name and the position in the room for each receptacle.
- Add the receptacles outdoors and in the garage to the list.
- Tell the other occupants of the building about the loss of electrical power.1mReport a problem with step 3, Prepare for the procedure
DISCONNECT THE REFRIGERATOR, THE FREEZER AND THE COMPUTER FIRST.
A loss of electrical power can cause damage to a compressor motor. A loss of data can also occur.
- Disconnect the refrigerator, the freezer and the computer from the receptacles.3mReport a problem with step 4, Prepare for the procedure
- This test finds each receptacle that loses the electrical power.
Stop the electrical power at the GFCI receptacle
Estimated under a minute
- Connect the table lamp to the GFCI receptacle.<1mReport a problem with step 1, Stop the electrical power at the GFCI receptacle
DO NOT DO THIS PROCEDURE ON A CIRCUIT THAT SUPPLIES MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
This procedure stops the electrical power. A loss of electrical power can kill a patient.
- Push the TEST button on the GFCI receptacle.<1mReport a problem with step 2, Stop the electrical power at the GFCI receptacle
- Make sure that the table lamp gives no light.<1mReport a problem with step 3, Stop the electrical power at the GFCI receptacle
- A lamp with no light shows that the device is in the tripped condition.
- If the lamp gives light, do not continue with this procedure.
- Disconnect the table lamp from the GFCI receptacle.<1mReport a problem with step 4, Stop the electrical power at the GFCI receptacle
Do a test of each receptacle on the list
Estimated 13 min to 36 min
Source: CPSC Fact Sheet: What Is A GFCI? (Pub 099) · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-06
- Connect the table lamp to the first receptacle on the list.<1mReport a problem with step 1, Do a test of each receptacle on the list
- Set the lamp to ON.<1mReport a problem with step 2, Do a test of each receptacle on the list
- Write the result for that receptacle on the list.<1mReport a problem with step 3, Do a test of each receptacle on the list
- A lamp with no light shows a receptacle that this GFCI device protects.
- A lamp with light shows a receptacle that a different device supplies.
- Disconnect the table lamp from that receptacle.<1mReport a problem with step 4, Do a test of each receptacle on the list
- Do the same test on each receptacle on the list.10mReport a problem with step 5, Do a test of each receptacle on the list
- A protected receptacle can be in a different room from the GFCI receptacle.
- Do a test of the receptacles on each floor and outdoors.
- Make a note of each lamp and each appliance that has no electrical power.2mReport a problem with step 6, Do a test of each receptacle on the list
Put a label on each protected receptacle
Estimated 6 min to 17 min
- Put a GFCI PROTECTED OUTLET label on each protected receptacle.3mReport a problem with step 1, Put a label on each protected receptacle
- The device makers supply these labels with the device.
- You can get more labels from the device maker.
- Write the map in your maintenance record.3mReport a problem with step 2, Put a label on each protected receptacle
- Name the GFCI receptacle and each receptacle that it protects.
Restore the electrical power
Estimated 10 min to 30 min
PUSH THE RESET BUTTON AT THE END OF THIS PROCEDURE.
A smoke alarm with no electrical power gives no warning of a fire.
- Push the RESET button on the GFCI receptacle fully.<1mReport a problem with step 1, Restore the electrical power
- Do a test of each protected receptacle again with the table lamp.5mReport a problem with step 2, Restore the electrical power
- The table lamp must give light at each protected receptacle.
- Connect the equipment that you disconnected.3mReport a problem with step 3, Restore the electrical power
- Set the clock on each appliance that lost the time.2mReport a problem with step 4, Restore the electrical power
Read a result that you did not expect
Estimated 3 min to 13 min
Source: CPSC Fact Sheet: What Is A GFCI? (Pub 099) · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-06
DO NOT USE A RECEPTACLE THAT HAS BURN MARKS OR A SMELL OF BURNT PLASTIC.
Damage in the electrical box can cause a fire or a fatal electric shock.
- Examine each receptacle that gives no light after the RESET.1mReport a problem with step 1, Read a result that you did not expect
- Speak to a licensed electrician about a receptacle that has no electrical power.1mReport a problem with step 2, Read a result that you did not expect
- Speak to a licensed electrician if you find no GFCI receptacle in the building.1mReport a problem with step 3, Read a result that you did not expect
- A GFCI circuit breaker can also give the protection.
- Never open the service panel.
Terminology
This page uses one term for each item and holds it throughout, as ASD-STE100 requires. Equipment sellers and other guides use the names below for the same parts.
- GFCI receptacle
- Also called: GFCI outlet, GFI outlet, ground fault outlet, outlet with test and reset buttons, bathroom outlet with buttons, safety outlet, the outlet with the buttons
- protected receptacle
- Also called: downstream outlet, down stream outlet, load side outlet, outlet controlled by the GFCI, slave outlet, outlet with no buttons
- branch circuit
- Also called: the circuit, the line, the run, the wiring for that room
- GFCI PROTECTED OUTLET label
- Also called: GFCI sticker, protected outlet sticker, outlet label
- trip
- Also called: pop, cut out, go dead, lose power, kick out
- GFCI circuit breaker
- Also called: GFCI breaker, ground fault breaker, breaker with a test button
When to use a professional
Never remove the cover plate of a receptacle. Never remove a receptacle from its electrical box. Never open the service panel. This page gives no method to install or to replace a GFCI receptacle.
Stop if a receptacle has burn marks. Stop if a receptacle has a smell of burnt plastic. Stop if a receptacle is loose in the wall. Stop if a receptacle has water on it. Speak to a licensed electrician.
Speak to a licensed electrician if you find no GFCI receptacle for a circuit. A GFCI circuit breaker can also give the protection. Speak to a licensed electrician if a receptacle gives no electrical power after the RESET. Do not put a label on a receptacle before you have the result of its test. A wrong label is worse than no label.
Common questions
Why is my bathroom or garage outlet dead when the breaker looks fine?
Because the outlet that stopped working is often not the thing that tripped. CPSC's GFCI fact sheet describes a receptacle-type GFCI as protecting whatever is plugged into it "and other electrical outlets further 'down stream' in the branch circuit", so the device that cut your power can be somewhere else entirely. Leviton's installation leaflet is blunter about how far away that can be: it says the protected receptacles "can be in different rooms". Find the nearest outlet that has TEST and RESET buttons, press RESET, and see whether the dead one comes back. If it does, this page is how you record the rest of the set so nobody has to hunt for it again.
How do I find out which outlets a GFCI protects without opening anything?
You make the GFCI trip on purpose and then find out what went dark. That is not a trick — it is the manufacturer's own commissioning step. Leviton's installation leaflet tells the installer to press TEST and then "plug a lamp or radio into surrounding receptacles to see which one(s), in addition to the GFCI, lost power", and to label each one before pressing RESET. Almost nobody does that on installation day, which is why the map is missing years later. The whole job stays on the outside of the wall: a lamp, a list, and a sheet of stickers.
Do I really have to unplug the fridge and the freezer first?
Unplug them, yes. You do not know in advance which outlets are on the protected set, and the whole point of the procedure is to find out by cutting the power to them. CPSC's home electrical safety checklist makes the same point about deliberately interrupting power for a test, warning that "appliances with compressor motors can be damaged by repeated power interruptions if you don't turn them off". The same goes for a computer, which has no warning that its outlet is about to go quiet. It costs two minutes and it is the difference between a tidy afternoon and an expensive one.
Is putting a sticker on the outlet actually necessary?
It is the only part of this job that survives you forgetting it. A protected outlet is physically indistinguishable from an unprotected one — no buttons, no light, nothing. Leviton sells the labels for exactly this and describes them as identifying "protected outlets downstream of GFCI outlet or circuit breaker", and its installation leaflet instructs the installer to place a "GFCI PROTECTED OUTLET" sticker on every receptacle that lost power during the test. Write the same map into your maintenance record as well, because stickers get painted over.
Does this tell me whether the GFCI still works?
No, and the difference matters. This procedure tells you which outlets a device controls; it says nothing about whether the device would still cut the power in a real ground fault. That is the monthly two-button test, and it has its own page on this site. CPSC is direct about why you cannot skip it: GFCIs "can fail without showing any sign of failure, so regular testing may save your life". Do the monthly test on the schedule, and do this mapping job once.
What if I cannot find a GFCI receptacle anywhere in the house?
Then the protection, if there is any, may not be a receptacle at all. CPSC describes GFCI circuit breakers as an alternative that protects "the wiring and every outlet, lighting fixture, or appliance on the branch circuit that it supplies", and its home electrical safety checklist notes these are "similar to the GFCIs used in outlets". Never open the service panel to go looking for one. Ask a licensed electrician what protects that circuit — that question is cheap to ask and the answer is worth having written down.
An outlet stayed dead even after I pressed RESET. Now what?
Stop and get an electrician. A dead outlet after a successful RESET means the outlet was not on the protected set at all, and something else is wrong with it. Leviton's leaflet lists three reasons a GFCI itself refuses to reset — no power reaching it, LINE and LOAD reversed at installation, or the device failing its own internal test — and none of the three can be told apart or fixed without opening the box. That is where this page ends. CPSC's advice for a GFCI that will not reset is the same: replace it, through a qualified electrician.
Related procedures
- How to test a GFCI outlet with the TEST and RESET buttons, and what it means when it will not reset
- How to tell if a surge protector still works, and when to replace a surge protector or power strip
- Is my phone charger safe to use? How to tell if a charging cable or wall charger is damaged, counterfeit or has been recalled
Sources
Every specification on this page is traced to one of these sources. Tier 1 is a manufacturer document, a published standard, or a government safety authority. See Standards for the full tiering rule.
- Tier 1CPSC Fact Sheet: What Is A GFCI? (Pub 099)
- Tier 1Home Electrical Safety Checklist: Keeping You and Your Family Safe, Room-by-Room (CPSC Pub 513)
- Tier 1Installing and Testing a GFCI Receptacle (instruction leaflet PK-93693-10-00-2C)
- Tier 1GFCI Protected Outlet Labels (GFLBL-LBL)
Revision history
Current version 1 · updated 2026-08-06 · next review due 2027-08-06
- v1 · 2026-08-06First draft. The mapping half of the GFCI pair: test-a-gfci-receptacle proves the device still works, this page finds out what it covers. Scope is deliberately outside the wall — a lamp, a list and a label — and every step that would need a cover plate off, a wire touched or a service panel opened is refused and routed to a licensed electrician. Rests on four tier-1 sources, all fetched and read on the access date: CPSC Pub 099 and Pub 513, Leviton instruction leaflet PK-93693-10-00-2C, and Leviton's GFCI PROTECTED OUTLET label documentation. The procedure follows the manufacturer's own commissioning step (leaflet step 8c: press TEST, find what lost power, label it, press RESET), written independently in Simplified Technical English after the sources were read and closed. No numeric value is published: the two verified specifications are descriptive statements of scope taken from CPSC Pub 099, and the voltage, current, wire gauge and breaker ratings publish as instructions to read the device or to consult a licensed electrician. Registering a source is refused to a delegate, so the one new entry is held in data/sources-additions-find-which-receptacles-a-gfci-protects.json for merge, and the two verified specifications carry no spec_key because data/specs.json is refused to a delegate too.
Corrections to this page are listed in the public corrections log. Reports that are credible and not yet verified are listed in the public errata register, and an open one renders above the step it concerns.
Comments and corrections
Found an error? A correction with a manufacturer source is applied and logged publicly. You can also write to corrections@fixchecklist.com.
Every step above carries its own report control, which tags the report with that step so a correction reaches the right place. For anything about the procedure as a whole — the order of the sections, a step that is missing, something that did not match your equipment — use this: report something about this whole procedure.