diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index a50106e4..a1f14fc7 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ olm, cipher).
 In addition to the Conventional Commit format, you can use the `Changelog` git
 trailer to specify the changelog message explicitly. When that trailer is
 present, its value will be used as the changelog entry instead of the commit's
-leading line.
+leading line. For breaking changes, use the `Breaking-Change` trailer instead
+of the `Changelog` trailer to specify the changelog entry.
 
 
 #### Example Commit Message
diff --git a/cliff.toml b/cliff.toml
index f6da1814..34878172 100644
--- a/cliff.toml
+++ b/cliff.toml
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ body = """
         {% for footer in commit.footers -%}
             {% if footer.token | lower  == "changelog" -%}
                 {% set_global commit_message = footer.value -%}
+            {% elif footer.token | lower  == "breaking-change" -%}
+                {% set_global commit_message = footer.value -%}
             {% elif footer.token | lower == "security-impact" -%}
                 {% set_global security_impact = footer.value -%}
             {% elif footer.token | lower == "cve" -%}