How do you find a company's LEI?
A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a 20-character code, built on the ISO 17442 standard, that identifies one legal entity worldwide. Search the company's legal name free on GLEIF's LEI Search, with no registration. The active LEI population passed 3 million in the first quarter of 2026 (GLEIF, Q1 2026).
What is an LEI?
An LEI is a reference code for a legal entity, such as a company, fund or branch, that takes part in financial transactions. It has 20 alphanumeric characters under ISO 17442, and each code is used only once (GLEIF, introducing the LEI). The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) publishes the full data pool; local LEI issuers register entities and keep their records.
GLEIF splits the data into 2 levels. Level 1 answers "who is who": the official legal name, registered address and other business card details. Level 2 answers "who owns whom": the entity's direct and ultimate accounting consolidating parents (GLEIF, Level 2 data).
People search for LEIs for 2 reasons. Some need their own for a trade, a filing or a bank, and vendor guides tie the requirement to activities such as derivatives trading and some regulatory filings. Researchers use other companies' LEIs to pin down exactly which entity they are dealing with and to see its corporate parents. This guide covers the second use.
Step 1. Search GLEIF's LEI Search
Open GLEIF's LEI Search and type the company's legal name or the LEI itself. Anyone can search the complete LEI data pool free of charge and without registering (GLEIF, how to use LEI Search). Expert mode adds filters, including filters on Direct Parent and Ultimate Parent relationships.
Search the legal name, not the brand. A well-known group can have hundreds of LEIs, one for each subsidiary, fund or branch, and the brand name may match none of them exactly.
Step 2. Confirm you have the right entity
Compare the record with what you already know. These are the fields that matter:
| Field | What it tells you | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name and other names | The registered name, plus any former or transliterated names | Match against contracts, filings and sanctions lists |
| Legal and headquarters address | Where the entity is registered and where it operates | Separate entities with similar names in different countries |
| Registration authority and ID | The national register and the company number in it | Open the record in that register, such as UK Companies House |
| Entity status | Active or inactive | An inactive entity may have merged or dissolved |
| Registration status | For example issued or lapsed | Shows whether the data was renewed on time |
| Direct and ultimate parent | The parents that consolidate the entity in their accounts | Climb the group structure |
The registration authority ID is the most useful field. It links the LEI to the company number in a national register, so you can move from GLEIF to the official filings.
Step 3. Check the registration status
LEI data must be renewed no later than one year after its previous verification. When renewal is missed and the grace period ends, the status becomes lapsed. GLEIF says a lapsed LEI remains a valid LEI and does not mean the entity is inactive; it means the reference data has not been reverified (GLEIF, timely renewal of LEIs).
Lapsed records are common. GLEIF reported an overall renewal rate of 56.6% in the first quarter of 2026 (GLEIF business report, Q1 2026). Treat a lapsed record's address and parent data as possibly out of date, and check them against the national register.
Step 4. Read the parent data
Open the relationships section of the record. If the entity reported a direct or ultimate accounting consolidating parent that has its own LEI, the parent's LEI appears on the child's record, and the child appears on the parent's (GLEIF, Level 2 data).
When no parent is shown, look for a reporting exception. Exceptions cover entities with no consolidating parent, such as those controlled by natural persons or with diverse shareholders, and entities that opted out of reporting (GLEIF, Level 2 reporting exceptions). The exception reason is itself a clue to how the company is owned.
Step 5. Download the data in bulk if you need it
For more than a handful of entities, GLEIF publishes the whole data pool free of charge as the Golden Copy and Concatenated files, including separate Level 2 relationship and reporting exception files (GLEIF, Golden Copy downloads). These files let you match a list of counterparties or map a group in one pass.
What does an LEI not tell you?
Level 2 data follows accounting consolidation, so it shows corporate parents, not the people who own a company. A company controlled by an individual reports an exception instead of naming that person. Not every company has an LEI either, since many small private companies never need one. For individual owners, use national registers, such as the UK people with significant control register, set out in how to find who owns a company.
Where does Tamarly Intelligence help?
Tamarly Intelligence is Tamarly's research platform on companies, funds, countries and markets, built from official filings and open data. GLEIF is one of its free and open sources, alongside SEC EDGAR, European ESEF filings and UK Companies House, and every figure links to the record it came from. Ask the Brain grades each source, with official filings and registers graded A, and says plainly when a subject is not covered.
Tamarly does not issue or renew LEIs; for your own LEI, use an accredited LEI issuer. When you need to confirm a counterparty's identity before a sanctions check, follow how to check if a company is sanctioned.
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Frequently asked questions
How many characters is an LEI?
20. The LEI is a 20-character alphanumeric code defined by the ISO 17442 standard, and each code is assigned only once (GLEIF, introducing the LEI).
Is GLEIF LEI Search free?
Yes. Anyone can search the complete LEI data pool free of charge and without registering, and GLEIF also offers the full data as free bulk downloads (GLEIF, how to use LEI Search).
What does a lapsed LEI mean?
The entity did not renew its reference data within one year of the last verification. GLEIF says a lapsed LEI is still a valid LEI and does not mean the entity is inactive (GLEIF, timely renewal of LEIs).
About the author. Melvine Manchau is the founder of Tamarly and author of the Tamarly Newsletter. He previously worked at PwC, Salesforce, BlackRock/eFront and Lazard.
About Tamarly Research. Tamarly Research is part of Tamarly Media, which holds no investment positions. Tamarly is a New York research house that studies how AI is changing regulated institutions.