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Technical information
A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a unique 20-character code assigned to legal entities that participate in financial transactions. The purpose of the LEI is to help regulators, banks, and other financial institutions identify and manage risks associated with these transactions by providing a standardized and globally recognized way to identify parties to financial transactions. The LEI structure is based on the ISO 17442 standard, which was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The standard defines the format and structure of the LEI, including the 20-character code, which is made up of four parts:
| 8 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | A | K | 4 | L | S | O | G | X | G | Y | 1 | 8 |
| LOU identification
code |
Always 00 | Unique identifier | Control
numbers |
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The ISO 17442 standard also specifies the minimum data fields required to be provided by the entity during application process. This includes legal name, address, and the names of ultimate parents and subsidiaries (in case reporting exception not used). It also specifies the validation process, which is the responsibility of the Local Operating Unit issuing the LEI.
The ISO standard also specifies the concept of the Relationship between LEIs, entities that are parent or subsidiary of another entity need to be represented in the data. This will allow regulators, banks and other financial institutions to have a better understanding of the overall risk exposures of the financial system, as well as to track the transactions that are being made between different legal entities.
An LEI code is a unique 20-character code made up of letters and numbers that comply with ISO standard 17442. The first four symbols identify the registrar (LOU) that first issued the LEI code. These do not change if an entity later decides to change its registrar. The registrar’s symbols are followed by two zeros, followed by a unique code that identifies an entity in the GLEIF register. The entire code is always submitted to the register (including the LOU identification code, control numbers and company identifier). It is not possible to identify which member state the registrar managing an LEI was operating in at the time of the request. However, this information is publicly available from the GLEIF database or using the LEI Registrations validation tool.
International Central Registry
LEI code data is stored in a single central register managed by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, or GLEIF. Only GLEIF-accredited LOUs can submit data to the register. The information stored in the register is public and available to all market participants via the GLEIF website www.gleif.org. Data from the GLEIF database can be retrieved by validation software. The database is updated once a day.
LEI Registrations consolidates data from different registers and compares them with the data entered in the GLEIF register.
Updating an LEI code, changing the registrar and other actions
Since LEI codes follow the principles of free movement of services and goods, entities are not permanently tied to any registrar. This means that, at any time, a company can change its LEI code registrar (LOU) to any other member state or third country registrar accredited to manage LEI codes from the entity’s country of incorporation.
In order to identify companies, it is important that the company’s data is up to date in the GLEIF database. Consequently, entities are required to submit up-to-date data about the entity’s status, contact information and ownership structure to the registrar at least once a year. The date the data was last submitted for an entity can be checked via the GLEIF database or using the LEI Registrations validation tool.
LEI Certificate
Registrars and account managers may request information related to an entity’s LEI code from the GLEIF database via an online query. It is not necessary to submit any paperwork or other documents. It is also not necessary to purchase a certificate or other evidence to use the LEI code, as the GLEIF and LOUs do not sell paid certificates. Instead, account managers or registrars make an electronic request to the GLEIF to verify the data related to an LEI code.