Apply for LEI

You can apply for an LEI number from a Local Operating Unit or an LEI registration body such as LEIReg.
LEI applications can be submitted after successful registration.
How do I register?

You can apply for an LEI for a company or institution, investment fund or branch by selecting "Apply for a new LEI" on the LEIReg home page or through the "LEI Services" section. Upon receipt of your LEI application, the data you have provided will be verified against any documents that may need to be submitted.

What documents do I need to provide to apply for an LEI?

The current status of your order can be viewed at any time under "MY DATA" in the "Order Management" section.

After successful verification, the LEI is assigned and can then be viewed and managed under "MY DATA" in the "LEIs/Data Management" area.

For more information on registration and LEI application, please refer to our checklist for obtaining your LEI.

LEIReg is officially accredited to issue LEIs in over 100 countries. There are no restrictions on the LEIs issued by LEIReg. They are not only valid in Germany, but worldwide.

During the LEI application procedure, a digital confirmation of the right to apply for and manage an LEI will be digitally generated with the help of the information provided by you. Bundesanzeiger Verlag GmbH reserves the right to require a personal signature/a signed power of attorney in certain circumstances.

For legal entities that are registered in the German commercial, cooperative, partnership or association register or in the Austrian company register, we procure the obligatory current register excerpt as an additional and free register service for you. You do not need to submit any further documents. If the company is not entered in a German commercial register, additional documents will be required to complete your application; these are specified in the following.

Should your company be in a group relationship and directly or indirectly affiliated with a parent company, will we require documentary proof of this relationship. Documents that can be accepted in this connection are annual or consolidated accounts that show the names of affiliated companies. These documents will not be required for companies that are entered in a German commercial register.

Companies/institutions

Generally required will be documentation confirming the genuine nature of the information provided on your company/institution; ideally, this should include information on the person(s) authorised to represent your company/institution. Depending on the legal system in your country, these documents may take various forms. The following are examples of suitable documents:

An except from the valid company register, articles of incorporation, articles of partnership, business registration etc.

In addition, it may be necessary to submit the following documents (examples provided) to provide the required information on the person(s) authorised to represent your company/institution:

Certificate of power of representation, record of the election process, appointment to the board etc.

Funds and special funds under German law (KAGB)

Required for funds and special funds will be a sales prospectus, an investment strategy document or the authorisation of the BaFin (or other registration body).

Individuals who undertake commercial activities

Generally required here will be confirmation of the business- or commercial-related nature of the transaction as only in these circumstances can an LEI be issued. Natural persons who are not undertaking a transaction for commercial or business purposes cannot be issued with an LEI.

Examples of documents that can be submitted for validation purposes include:

Business registration, registration of membership of a professional body etc.

In case you are a natural person engaged in business activities but not registered or belonging to a professional chamber, we would need in addition to your LEI application either a business registration, a tax assessment notice or proof from your bank that you maintain a business account for processing transactions for which an LEI is required.

The LEI issue procedure involves various stages. Stage 1 merely involves the identification of the company. In stage 2, the so-called level 2 data is collected; this consists of information on the parent company.

While the first stage involves answering the question "who is who", the level 2 data provides the answer to the question "who owns what".

Yes, an LEI can be issued for a branch office situated in a different country. However, only one LEI can be issued for all branch offices located in a specific country. This means it is advisable to decide for which branch office in that country the LEI application should be submitted.

Only the company headquarters can submit an LEI application for a branch office.

The following documents are required in order to validate the branch office:

A current commercial register excerpt originating from the country in which the branch office is situated.

Another document confirming the relationship between the main office and the branch office. This could be, for example, an annual financial statement of one of the two offices.

If the legally independent investment asset pool is not registered with a register court, then the asset pool’s responsible administrating company, e.g the asset management company, must be specified during the application procedure. If necessary, it is of course possible to submit an application for an LEI for the administering company.

If the investment asset pool is registered with a register court, e.g. a closed fund, it will be necessary to submit an application for an LEI for the corresponding company/institution.

For more information regarding the required documents for the LEI application for investment asset pools please see: What documentation will I need to make available for my LEI application?