Legal Entity Identifier Search Tool

Search the Global LEI Index instantly with the LEI System's lookup tool and get live access to GLEIF-verified legal entity data records for any registered organization worldwide. Find the LEI number, company name, entity status and ownership structure as well as many other registration details.

Powered by RapidLEI, the world's largest GLEIF-accredited LEI issuer with over 3 million records as of Q1 2026. Our LEI lookup tool searches the complete Global LEI Index in real time, covering all 200+ jurisdictions including the United States, United Kingdom, EU member states, India, Australia and Canada — the same database consulted by regulators and central banks globally.

Company Name

Search by the entity's full or partial legal name as registered in its jurisdiction.

Funds & Trusts

Look up a fund or trust name to retrieve corresponding LEI record and entity data.

LEI Number

Enter the full 20-character alphanumeric identifier to retrieve an entity record.

ISIN

Search using an International Securities Identification Number.

BIC Code

Type in a SWIFT Business Identifier Code linked to the entity's LEI record.

How to Use LEI Search?

Finding the entity data you need takes just seconds because the LEI System search tool is built for speed and simplicity. Whether you are checking the LEI code status, verifying a counterparty or researching an entity's ownership structure, our tool delivers legal entity and ownership data straight from the Global LEI Index.

Enter Search

Type a company name, LEI number, ISIN or BIC code and find verified reference data on any registered legal entity in real time.

View Results

Select any result to view identity data, registration status, issuing authority, renewal date and ownership relationships.

Engage

Verify counterparties, complete KYB checks or initiate the registration, renewal or transfer of your LEI code with LEI System.

What Do LEI Statuses Mean

Every record in the Global LEI Index carries a registration status that tells you whether the legal entity's reference data is current, overdue for renewal or permanently closed.

Issued

The only fully compliant status, confirming the entity's data was verified in the last 12 months.

Lapsed

The annual renewal was missed; reference data is unverified and the code may be rejected.

Retired

The entity no longer exists; the code is permanently inactive and retained as a record.

Active

The legal entity is operating; showing Active LEI status and ISSUED registration.

Inactive

The legal entity no longer exists, having been dissolved, merged or acquired.

LEI Status

Entity Status

How to Use Legal Entity Reference Data?

Beyond compliance, LEI reference data can be applied to due diligence, risk management and operational efficiency. Our lookup tool can be used for many business and regulatory workflows.

Counterparty Verification

Before entering into a financial transaction, confirm that your counterparty holds a valid, currently issued LEI. Verified entity data reduces the risk of engaging with dissolved, fraudulent or misidentified organizations in any jurisdiction.

KYC compliance

Legal entity reference data from the GLEIF index supports Know Your Customer processes by providing verified identity information: legal name, registered address, country of formation and legal form, all drawn from authoritative national sources.

LEI Status check

Confirm that a counterparty's LEI carries ISSUED status before a regulated transaction or reporting submission. Many regulators and financial infrastructures reject trade reports or onboarding submissions that reference a lapsed or retired LEI.

Client Onboarding

Incorporate LEI number lookup into your client onboarding to verify entity identity at the point of intake. Cross-referencing against the Global LEI Index reduces manual verification effort and strengthens the integrity of your onboarding data.

Regulatory Reporting

MiFID II, EMIR, SFTR and other reporting frameworks require valid LEI codes for counterparty identification. Use the search tool to confirm the LEI before submitting transaction reports to trade repositories or regulators.

Risk Screening

Cross-reference entity data retrieved from the LEI index against sanctions lists, ownership registries and risk databases as part of your AML and financial crime screening. Standardized, verified data makes the process faster and more reliable.

LEI Reference Data Explained

Every LEI record contains two layers of reference data. Level 1 answers “who is who”, providing verified identity details including legal name, registered address and country of formation. Level 2 answers “who owns whom”, mapping direct and ultimate parent entities worldwide.

Level 1 Data: "Who is Who"

Defined by ISO 17442 and mandated by GLEIF, Level 1 captures the minimum reference data required to uniquely identify any legal entity.

Official legal name from national registry.
Registered address and country of formation.
Legal form and entity status.
Freely searchable via the Global LEI Index.

Level 2 Data: "Who Owns Whom"

Level 2 maps ownership relationships by identifying direct and ultimate accounting consolidating parents, where those parent entities also hold an LEI.

Direct and ultimate parent identification.
Corporate group structure mapping.
Beneficial ownership compliance support.
Reported exceptions recorded where applicable.

What is the Global LEI Index?

It is the world's only open, standardized and universally accessible database of legal entity identifiers. Both Level 1 identity data and Level 2 ownership data can be found through a single search. The LEI index is updated daily as LEI issuers report new registrations, renewals and data changes.

It is freely accessible to anyone without registration, making it the only global open data source of its kind for legal entity identification. Maintained by GLEIF, it contains Over 2.5 million active and historical records for every entity that has ever been issued an LEI code by any accredited issuing organization worldwide, across more than 200 jurisdictions.

Global network of connected legal entities

LEI Code Structure

All LEI numbers follow a standard 20-character format specified by ISO 17442. Each part of the sequence carries a specific meaning, making it possible to find the issuing authority and the registered entity behind any identifier.

LOU Prefix

A four-character code identifying the responsible LOU that issued the LEI.

Reserved Characters

Placeholder characters set to "00," kept available for future requirements.

Entity identifier

A 14-character alphanumeric string that is assigned uniquely to a single legal entity.

Check Digits

A two-digit validation sequence using MOD-97-10 to ensure the code's integrity.

Recent Blog Posts

Kristian Hein, September 29

LEI code and Crowdfunding

An LEI code is often associated with securities trading and financial market reporting, but companies may also need one when raising funds through an EU-regulated crowdfunding platform. When the project owner is a legal entity, its LEI is used as the identifier in regulatory reporting. This article explains how lending-based crowdfunding works, when an LEI code is required, why platforms may request it and what companies should know before raising funds in the EU.

Kristian Hein, September 21

LEI code and Sanctions Screening

Sanctions screening often relies on company names and other identifying information, which can create false matches when different businesses have identical or similar names. The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) adds a globally unique identifier that helps establish exactly which legal entity is being checked. This article explores how LEIs can improve sanctions screening, reduce false positives, connect company and ownership information with sanctions data, and support more accurate business identification across borders.

Kristian Hein, September 14

LEI Level 2: Who Owns Whom? (Not What You Think)

LEI Level 2 shows the accounting consolidation parent relationships between legal entities—the direct and ultimate parents that appear on consolidated financial statements. It is not a shareholder registry, beneficial owner register, or ownership list. Understanding what Level 2 actually reveals, why parent information can be legitimately missing through standardized reporting exceptions, and what Policy Non-Conforming status means, is essential for accurate corporate data interpretation and due diligence processes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an LEI lookup?

Our LEI lookup tool allows you to search the Global LEI Index, the publicly accessible database maintained by GLEIF that contains reference data for every entity ever issued a Legal Entity Identifier. You can look up an entity by company name, LEI code, ISIN, BIC or registration number to retrieve its current identity data, registration status and ownership information.

How do I find the LEI number of a company?

Use the LEI search tool on this page. Enter the company's legal name, business registration number or any mapped identifier such as a BIC or ISIN. The tool checks the entire Global LEI Index in real time and returns matching records with full reference data. For the most accurate results, use the entity's official registered name.

Is the LEI search tool free to use?

Yes, completely. The Global LEI Index is an open data resource maintained by GLEIF under an open data license. No registration, subscription or payment is required to find, view or download LEI records. LEI System's search tool provides a fast, user-friendly interface to the same publicly available data.

How do I find my LEI number?

Find your entity by legal name or business registration number using the lookup tool on this page. Your Legal Entity Identifier record will appear with your current registration status, renewal date and reference data as recorded in the GLEIF index. If you registered your LEI through LEI System, your code is also available in your account.

What does it mean when an LEI status shows as Lapsed?

Missing the annual renewal deadline is what causes an LEI to show as Lapsed: the entity itself may still be active and operating, but its data has not been re-verified against authoritative sources within the past 12 months. Many regulators and counterparties will not accept a lapsed identifier for transactions or reporting submissions. Renewing the LEI restores it to ISSUED status.

What is the difference between a lapsed and a retired LEI?

A lapsed Legal Entity Identifier belongs to an entity that still exists but has not completed its annual renewal. It can be restored by renewing the registration. A retired LEI, by contrast, belongs to an entity that has permanently ceased to exist through dissolution, merger or acquisition. Retired LEIs cannot be renewed or reactivated and remain in the index as historical records only.

Can I look up an LEI by company name?

Yes. The LEI search tool accepts company name as an input and returns results ranked by relevance against the full Global LEI Index. Partial name searches are supported. For best results, use the entity's full official legal name as registered in its home jurisdiction. You can also refine results by country if the name is common.

How do I verify an LEI number?

Enter the full 20-character code into the LEI search bar on this page. The tool retrieves the corresponding GLEIF record and displays the entity's current reference data and registration status. Because we check directly against the Global LEI Index database, an ISSUED status confirms the identifier is fully verified and current.

Can I find an LEI using a BIC or ISIN?

Yes. GLEIF maintains certified mapping files that link Business Identifier Codes (BICs) and International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs) to their corresponding Legal Entity Identifier records. LEI System's search tool supports BIC and ISIN as inputs, returning the matched entity's full LEI record directly. This is particularly useful for securities analysis, counterparty identification and regulatory reporting workflows.

What is the GMEI utility and how does it relate to LEI search?

One of the original GLEIF-accredited LEI issuers, and the operator of one of the earliest LEI lookup interfaces, was the GMEI Utility (Global Markets Entity Identifier Utility). While it has since transitioned its operations, its LEI records remain part of the Global LEI Index and are fully searchable through any GLEIF-compliant lookup tool.

Is LEI lookup affected by the original issuer?

No. Every GLEIF-accredited Local Operating Unit, including large institutional issuers like Bloomberg, feeds into the exact same Global LEI Index. The index is universal: regardless of which LOU issued a code, all active LEI records can be found through GLEIF.

Why do some LEI records show more detail than others?

Not all entities have had their information fully validated against public sources. GLEIF assigns a corroboration level to each Legal Entity Identifier record, ranging from fully corroborated, where public registry data confirms everything supplied, to entity-supplied only, where no independent confirmation was found. Records with lower corroboration may show more limited detail as a result.

Can I still find a retired or historical LEI record?

Yes. The Global LEI Index retains historical records permanently, even after an entity's status changes to RETIRED or MERGED. This allows counterparties, auditors and researchers to verify past registrations and trace an entity's identifier history at any time.

Can I download LEI reference data in bulk instead of checking records one at a time?

Yes. GLEIF makes the complete index available for bulk download for users who need large-scale reference data rather than individual lookups. LEI System's tool is optimized for quick, single-entity searches; for bulk access, GLEIF's own downloads are the appropriate resource.

What should I do if a counterparty's LEI is lapsed?

A lapsed counterparty Legal Entity Identifier is a compliance risk: many regulators require that both parties to a transaction hold ISSUED-status identifiers. You should notify the counterparty and request that they renew their LEI before proceeding with any regulated transaction or reporting submission. If you manage your own LEI through LEI System, our automatic renewal system ensures your code never lapses.