Do You Need an LEI Number?
Find Out Here

Find out in two minutes whether your organisation must hold an LEI number to trade, report or open bank accounts.

The one-minute answer

If your UK business trades listed shares, bonds, ETFs, FX forwards, interest-rate swaps or engages in repo/securities lending, you need an Issued LEI number. If you don’t trade – but plan to open a custody or clearing account—banks will likely request an LEI anyway.

Full eligibility checklist

The one-minute answer

If your UK business trades listed shares, bonds, ETFs, FX forwards, interest-rate swaps or engages in repo/securities lending, you need an Issued LEI number. If you don’t trade – but plan to open a custody or clearing account—banks will likely request an LEI anyway.

Full eligibility checklist

Documents and Data you’ll Need

RegulationInstruments coveredEntity typesEnforcement date
MiFID II Art 26Shares, bonds, ETFsInvestment firms & clientsJan 2018
EMIR & EMIR-REFITOTC & ETD derivativesFinancial & NFC entitiesJun 2014 / Jun 2020
SFTR (EU & UK)Repos, securities lendingBorrower & lenderJul 2020
CSDRSettlement fails reportingCSD participantsFeb 2022
Dodd-Frank (US)SwapsUS counterpartiesApr 2013

Decision flowchart

Who Needs an LEI Number

Sector deep-dive

Investment
funds

UCITS and AIFs must maintain Issued LEIs for all fund compartments. FCA Handbook COLL 6.9 cites LEIs in risk disclosures.

SMEs trading derivatives

Any LTD entering an FX forward exceeding seven days qualifies as a derivative counterparty under EMIR and therefore needs an LEI.

Local
authorities

Council treasurers using repo lines with UK banks must maintain active LEIs per SFTR-UK.

Benefits of voluntary adoption

  • Faster banking: HSBC and Barclays KYC portals auto-pull GLEIF data.
  • Vendor credibility: suppliers see a global ID, not just a UK CRN.
  • ESG & transparency: investors score higher on openness metrics.
  • Future-proofing: ready for vLEI digital-ID roll-outs
Benefits of voluntary adoption

Next steps: register, renew, update

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First-time registration
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Transfer LEI for free

Frequently asked questions

Around 191 000 as of Q2 2025 (GLEIF statistics).

Only if it trades reportable instruments, but UK fund LPs usually do.

Yes. Each legal entity requires its own LEI; group LEIs don’t cascade.

Encourage voluntary registration; banks increasingly ask suppliers for LEIs in trade-finance deals.

No. Regulations specify Issued status; lapsed codes are rejected.

Not yet under UK law, but MiCA in the EU may reference LEIs for crypto-asset service providers.

Amir Mechouk

Amir Mechouk

CTO
Shane Healey

Shane Healey

Chief Financial Officer
Darko Brzica

Darko Brzica

Chief Technology Officer
Robert Andersson

Robert Andersson

Senior Advisor
Polina Bojilova Taliana

Polina Bojilova Taliana

Managing Director