How to get an LEI

You obtain an LEI from an accredited issuing organisation, called a Local Operating Unit (LOU), or through a registration agent that works with one. GLEIF accredits the issuers; it does not sell LEIs directly.

Registration means supplying your entity's legal name, registered address and the business registry it appears in, so the issuer can validate the details against an authoritative source. Once validated, the LEI is issued — usually within a day or two — and the reference data is published in the global index the same day.

An LEI must be renewed every year. Renewal re-confirms that the reference data is still accurate. If you skip renewal the record does not disappear, but its registration status changes to “lapsed”, which many counterparties and regulators treat as a red flag.

Prices and turnaround vary between issuers because they compete on service, not on the identifier itself — the LEI you receive is identical whichever accredited route you use.