GLEIF LEI Lookup (legal entity identifiers worldwide)

A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a 20 character code that identifies a company, fund or other legal entity in financial transactions, defined in ISO 17442. GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, publishes every LEI with the entity's legal name, addresses, register number and ownership links as open data.

This actor looks up LEI codes you already have, or searches the register by legal name and country, and returns one clean row per entity. Use it to verify the LEIs of counterparties before a trade report (EMIR, MiFIR), to enrich a customer list with the national register number and legal form, to find the parent of a subsidiary, or to keep track of LEIs that are about to lapse.

Example from a real run

Run dNoMxaynCe6Hx9DeS on Apify on 4 October 2026, with this input:

{
  "legalName": "Volvo",
  "countries": ["SE"],
  "onlyNew": true
}

It returned 20 records in 10 seconds of run time. The first three rows from the dataset, with some fields left out here to keep it short:

[
  {
    "lei": "549300P5JZ7GDEJQ8R74",
    "legalName": "Volvo Lastvagnar Aktiebolag",
    "legalJurisdiction": "SE",
    "entityCategory": "GENERAL",
    "legalForm": { "code": "XJHM", "name": "Aktiebolag" },
    "entityStatus": "ACTIVE",
    "registeredAs": "556013-9700",
    "registrationStatus": "ISSUED",
    "lastUpdateDate": "2026-10-02T04:36:00Z",
    "nextRenewalDate": "2027-11-29T00:18:00Z"
  },
  {
    "lei": "549300VDEAR86G5V3S61",
    "legalName": "IF Metall Volvo Olofström",
    "legalJurisdiction": "SE",
    "entityCategory": "GENERAL",
    "legalForm": { "code": "1TN0", "name": "Ideell förening (som bedriver näringsverksamhet)" },
    "entityStatus": "ACTIVE",
    "registeredAs": "836200-5962",
    "registrationStatus": "ISSUED",
    "lastUpdateDate": "2026-09-21T06:19:00Z",
    "nextRenewalDate": "2027-09-24T08:04:00Z"
  },
  {
    "lei": "636700XHCLW8419O1812",
    "legalName": "Volvo Jubileumsstiftelse",
    "legalJurisdiction": "SE",
    "entityCategory": "GENERAL",
    "legalForm": { "code": "E9BI", "name": "stiftelse" },
    "entityStatus": "ACTIVE",
    "registeredAs": "802482-6037",
    "registrationStatus": "ISSUED",
    "lastUpdateDate": "2026-08-28T05:21:00Z",
    "nextRenewalDate": "2027-10-25T06:51:00Z"
  }
]

The same input run again a few seconds later (run pPu58Id4kXVP3Xnku) returned 0 records, since nothing had changed in between. See "Monitoring and scheduling".

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
leis	array		LEI codes to look up. Invalid codes (wrong length, characters or check digits) are skipped with a warning in the log. Up to 10 000 per run.
legalName	string		Search term for the legal name. Matches names that contain the term, for example Volvo finds Aktiebolaget Volvo and Volvo Car AB.
countries	array		Country of the legal address, ISO 3166 alpha-2 codes such as SE, NO, DE.
entityStatus	string	ACTIVE	ACTIVE, INACTIVE (the entity has ceased, for example after a merger) or any.
registrationStatus	string	any	ISSUED (current), LAPSED (not renewed in time), RETIRED or any.
entityCategory	string	any	GENERAL, BRANCH, FUND, INTERNATIONAL_ORGANIZATION or any.
includeParents	boolean	false	Adds directParentLei and ultimateParentLei. Costs up to two extra requests per record.
maxResults	integer	50	Maximum number of records, 1 to 10 000.
onlyNew	boolean	false	Return only records that are new or changed since earlier runs with the same input. See "Monitoring and scheduling".

The filters combine, so legalName with countries searches within those countries. With empty input the actor returns the 50 most recently updated active records in the whole register, newest first (49 seconds of run time in a test on 4 October 2026, run omfTkBCq9fdvq4U6k), which is a quick way to see what the output looks like.

Example input: active Swedish entities with Volvo in the name, with parent LEIs.

{
  "legalName": "Volvo",
  "countries": ["SE"],
  "entityStatus": "ACTIVE",
  "includeParents": true,
  "maxResults": 50
}

Example input: check a list of LEIs.

{
  "leis": ["549300HGV012CNC8JD22", "5299003QF94FZCIIRP54"],
  "entityStatus": "any"
}

Output

Field	Description
lei	The LEI code
legalName, legalNameLanguage	Legal name as registered, and its language
otherNames	Other registered names, for example trading names or earlier names
legalJurisdiction	Jurisdiction the entity is registered under, for example SE or US-DE
entityCategory	GENERAL, BRANCH, FUND or another GLEIF category
legalForm	code (ISO 20275 ELF code) and name in the local language, for example XJHM and Aktiebolag
entityStatus	ACTIVE or INACTIVE
legalAddress, headquartersAddress	lines, city, region, postalCode, country. null when GLEIF has no address
registeredAs	The entity's number in its national register, for example the Swedish organisationsnummer
registrationAuthority	id (GLEIF RA code) and name of the register, for example Swedish Companies Registration Office
registrationStatus	ISSUED, LAPSED, RETIRED and a few rarer values
initialRegistrationDate, lastUpdateDate, nextRenewalDate	Dates of the LEI registration
managingLou	LEI of the issuer (Local Operating Unit) that manages the record
bic	BIC codes mapped to the LEI, empty when there are none
directParentLei, ultimateParentLei	Only with includeParents. null when the entity reports no parent or an exception
source, license	Attribution for the data

{
  "lei": "549300P5JZ7GDEJQ8R74",
  "legalName": "Volvo Lastvagnar Aktiebolag",
  "legalNameLanguage": "sv",
  "otherNames": [],
  "legalJurisdiction": "SE",
  "entityCategory": "GENERAL",
  "legalForm": { "code": "XJHM", "name": "Aktiebolag" },
  "entityStatus": "ACTIVE",
  "legalAddress": {
    "lines": ["C/O Volvo Lastvagnar Aktiebolag"],
    "city": "Göteborg",
    "region": "SE-O",
    "postalCode": "405 08",
    "country": "SE"
  },
  "headquartersAddress": {
    "lines": ["C/O Volvo Lastvagnar Aktiebolag"],
    "city": "Göteborg",
    "region": "SE-O",
    "postalCode": "405 08",
    "country": "SE"
  },
  "registeredAs": "556013-9700",
  "registrationAuthority": { "id": "RA000544", "name": "Swedish Companies Registration Office" },
  "registrationStatus": "ISSUED",
  "initialRegistrationDate": "2022-12-15T15:33:00Z",
  "lastUpdateDate": "2026-10-02T04:36:00Z",
  "nextRenewalDate": "2027-11-29T00:18:00Z",
  "managingLou": "549300O897ZC5H7CY412",
  "bic": [],
  "source": "GLEIF (Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation)",
  "license": "CC0 1.0"
}

The run above had includeParents set to false, so the row has no parent fields. With includeParents: true each row also gets directParentLei and ultimateParentLei, filled with the parent's LEI or null when the entity reports no parent or an exception.

Monitoring and scheduling

Set onlyNew to true to watch a set of LEIs or a search over time. The actor then remembers which record versions it has delivered for the same input, in a named key-value store in your Apify account (nightwave-state-gleif-lei-lookup, one record per input). A record version is the LEI together with its lastUpdateDate, so a record comes again when GLEIF publishes a change to it, for example a renewal, a new address or a status change to LAPSED. Each run returns and charges only records that are new or changed since earlier runs. The first run returns everything in the selection. A run without news finishes successfully with 0 rows.

With onlyNew a search is read with the most recently updated records first, in full pages of 200, and at most 10 000 records are read per run. Records already delivered do not count toward maxResults. When there are more new records than maxResults, the rest come in the next run.

onlyNew and maxResults are not part of the remembered input, so you can change them without starting over. Changing any other field starts a fresh state. To start over with the same input, delete the record in the key-value store.

Example: a daily check at 07:00 Swedish time of your counterparties' LEIs, which reports any LEI that was renewed, lapsed or changed. In Apify Console, open Schedules, create a schedule with the cron expression 0 7 * * * and add this actor with the input below.

{
  "leis": ["549300HGV012CNC8JD22", "5299003QF94FZCIIRP54"],
  "entityStatus": "any",
  "onlyNew": true
}

The same schedule through the Apify API:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/schedules?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "daily-lei-check", "cronExpression": "0 7 * * *", "timezone": "Europe/Stockholm", "isEnabled": true, "isExclusive": true,
       "actions": [{"type": "RUN_ACTOR", "actorId": "nightwave-owner~gleif-lei-lookup",
                    "runInput": {"contentType": "application/json; charset=utf-8", "body": "<the input above as a JSON string>"}}]}'

The first run returns both records. Later runs return a record only on a day GLEIF has published a change to it.

Good to know

• Sole proprietors are always left out. The register also holds LEIs of sole proprietors (category SOLE_PROPRIETOR), whose legal name and address are those of a private person. The actor drops these records before anything is stored, also when you ask for their LEI directly, and the log tells how many were left out. No names of people are returned.
• GLEIF's rate limit is followed. The API documentation sets the limit at 60 requests per minute per user. The actor sends at most one request per second. Names of legal forms and registration authorities come from GLEIF's own code lists, bundled with the actor, so they cost no extra requests. A search returns 200 records per request, so 10 000 records take about a minute. With includeParents each record with a reported parent needs up to two more requests, so 1 000 records with parents can take half an hour.
• One search returns at most 10 000 records. That is the limit of GLEIF's page based API. For larger sets, split the run by country, status or category.
• The legal name search matches names that contain the term. It does not correct spelling. Use the LEI code when you have it.
• Legal form and register names are looked up once per code in GLEIF's code lists and reused within the run.
• Requests are retried three times on network errors, rate limits (429) and server errors. A response in an unexpected format stops the run with a clear message instead of storing broken rows. A search without matches ends successfully with 0 rows.
• The API serves GLEIF's Golden Copy, which is published several times a day. A change made by an issuer usually shows up within a day.

Data source and license

The data comes from the GLEIF API (https://api.gleif.org/api/v1), which needs no key. GLEIF publishes LEI data under Creative Commons CC0 1.0, so it can be used, shared and resold without restriction. Every row still carries source and license so you can credit GLEIF.

This actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by GLEIF.

Pricing

Pay per event: 0.002 USD per LEI record returned (event lei-record), which is 2.00 USD per 1 000 records. Platform usage is included, so you pay only per result. A search without matches costs nothing per record. maxResults caps how many records, and therefore how much, a run can charge.

Rows are delivered only after they have been charged. If you set a maximum cost per run (maxTotalChargeUsd), the run stops there and its status message says how many rows were delivered.

Contact

Built and maintained by Nightwave AB. Questions, bugs and feature requests: kontakt@nightwave.se

På svenska

Actorn slår upp och söker i GLEIF:s öppna register över LEI-koder (Legal Entity Identifier), den 20 tecken långa kod som identifierar bolag, fonder och andra juridiska personer i finansiella transaktioner. Ange LEI-koder eller sök på namn och land, och få en rad per juridisk person.

• Fält: juridiskt namn, andra namn, jurisdiktion, kategori, juridisk form (ELF-kod och namn), status, säte och huvudkontor, nationellt registreringsnummer (för svenska bolag organisationsnumret), registermyndighet, registreringsdatum, förnyelsedatum, BIC och, om du vill, LEI för direkt och yttersta moderbolag.
• Filter: LEI-koder, namn, land, status för bolaget och för registreringen samt kategori. Standard är 50 poster per körning, högst 10 000. Utan filter ges de 50 senast uppdaterade aktiva posterna i hela registret.
• Bevakning: med onlyNew kommer ihåg actorn vilka poster den redan har levererat för samma input (key-value store nightwave-state-gleif-lei-lookup). Varje körning levererar och debiterar bara poster som är nya eller har ändrats sedan förra körningen, till exempel en förnyad eller förfallen LEI. Lägg actorn på ett dagligt schema i Apify under Schedules, se avsnittet "Monitoring and scheduling".
• Enskilda näringsidkare tas alltid bort, eftersom namn och adress där är en privatpersons. Inga personnamn lämnas ut.
• Actorn följer GLEIF:s gräns på cirka 60 anrop per minut och skickar högst ett anrop per sekund.
• Källa: GLEIF (Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation). Licens: CC0 1.0, fri att använda.
• Pris: 0,002 USD per LEI-post (2,00 USD per 1 000). Plattformsanvändningen ingår.
• Kontakt: kontakt@nightwave.se