The short answer
A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a 20-character code, defined by the ISO 17442 standard, that uniquely identifies a legal entity taking part in financial transactions. LEIs are issued by accredited local operating units and published in a global open database run by GLEIF.
At a glance
- Term
- Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)
- Also known as
- LEI · LEI number · GLEIF
- Category
- Ownership & identity
- Where it matters
- Company and founder due diligence
Legal Entity Identifier in practice
Level 1 LEI data answers “who is who”: legal name, registered address, registration authority and number, and status. Level 2 data answers “who owns whom”: the entity’s direct and ultimate accounting parents, where reported.
Because LEIs are global and open, they are a reliable way to tie the same company together across countries and data sources.
Why Legal Entity Identifier matters
- Unambiguous identity across jurisdictions.
- Parent and subsidiary links for group structures.
- An exact identifier for confirmed sanctions and watch-list matches.
Legal Entity Identifier in MarketPrior
MarketPrior uses GLEIF LEI records to resolve companies and GLEIF Level 2 to add parent and subsidiary links to the ownership section. An LEI match is one of the identifiers that makes a watch-list hit “confirmed”.