The trip lever of a toilet is actually house inside the tank, usually on whichever side the handle is on. This lever is used as a “trip” mechanism, to action the flush valve. This piece, along with the handle, initiates the flushing action. Trip levers are metal or plastic pieces that attach themselves to the flush valve or flapper piece with a chain or a clip component.
Toilet Trip Lever: What is it? What does it look like?
The best thing about trip levers, is that they tend to be universal to handles. When a handle breaks, a universal handle can often be purchased to seamlessly fit onto the trip lever. However, if the handle on the toilet is a specific style (front-mount, side-mount- or angular), you will likely have to buy a specific trip lever to match the area the handle is on. Trip levers are also quite simple to replace. To replace a broken trip lever, you can detach the flapper chain/clip, and then reconnect the new trip lever to the handle and clip.