Panel replacements are bread and butter for residential electricians, but they’re not as simple as they look from the outside. Before you even pull wire, you need to know: does the utility need to pull the meter, or can you work with it hot behind a main breaker? In most jurisdictions, the utility pulls the meter and you work on the dead side. In some areas, you can pull your own meter with proper certification. Know your local rules.
The rough process: disconnect interior circuits, document the panel (photo everything), pull the permit, coordinate utility disconnect, remove old panel and meter socket, set new panel and meter socket, land all circuits, bond and ground per 250, call for rough-in inspection before closing anything. If you’re upgrading amperage, the utility has to verify their transformer can handle it and may need to upgrade service conductors. That’s their cost, but it’s your job to initiate the request - usually weeks in advance.
Inspectors on panel replacements are looking at: proper wire sizing and terminations, appropriate breaker types for the circuits (AFCI/GFCI where required), clearances per 110.26, proper grounding and bonding (GEC to electrode, EGC bus bonded to neutral only at the service), and whether your breakers are listed for the panel. Using “compatible” breakers that aren’t in the panel’s listing is a code violation and an inspection failure.