What Is an LEI Search by Name?

An LEI search by name allows you to find any Legal Entity Identifier by typing a company's name — or even part of it — into a search bar. Instead of needing a 20-character alphanumeric code, you simply enter what you know about the entity: its legal name, a trade name, or an abbreviation.

This is the most common way people look up LEI codes. Whether you're a compliance officer verifying a counterparty, a financial analyst conducting due diligence, or a business owner checking your own LEI status, searching by name is the fastest route to the information you need.

How Does LEI Search by Name Work?

When you type a company name into our LEI search tool, several things happen behind the scenes to deliver accurate results:

1. Query Normalisation

Your search term is cleaned and standardised before it reaches the database. Common corporate suffixes like "Ltd", "GmbH", "S.A.", or "Inc." are handled intelligently so that searching for "Acme Corporation Ltd" or just "Acme Corporation" returns the same results. Punctuation, extra spaces, and case differences are all normalised automatically.

2. Multi-Source Matching

We don't just search one database. Your query is run against the GLEIF (Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation) database — the authoritative source for all LEI records worldwide. In parallel, we cross-reference results with national company registers like UK Companies House and SEC EDGAR to enrich results with additional context.

3. Relevance Ranking

Results are ranked by relevance to your query. Exact matches appear first, followed by close matches. The ranking considers factors such as how closely the legal name matches your search term, the entity's registration status, and the country context if you've applied a filter.

LEI Search by Number: Direct Lookup

If you already have an LEI code — the 20-character alphanumeric identifier — you can search for it directly. An LEI search by number returns an exact match instantly, showing you the entity's full registration details including:

• Legal name and any trade names
• Registered address and headquarters location
• Registration status — Active, Lapsed, or Retired
• Next renewal date — when the LEI is due for annual renewal
• Relationship data — parent companies and subsidiaries (Level 2 data)

An LEI code always follows the same format: 20 characters, mixing letters and numbers, like 5493001KJTIIGC8Y1R12. Our search tool automatically detects when you enter an LEI code versus a company name and adjusts the search method accordingly.

I Don't Know My LEI — How Do I Find It?

This is one of the most common questions we hear. Perhaps you registered an LEI years ago through a different provider, or your company's LEI was set up by a colleague who has since moved on. Maybe you're not even sure if your organisation has one at all.

The good news: you don't need to remember your LEI code to find it.

Fuzzy Matching: Search Even with Typos or Partial Names

Our search engine includes an intelligent fuzzy matching layer that goes beyond simple text matching. Here's what that means in practice:

• Misspellings are handled: Type "Revongton Hayes" instead of "Rivington Haye" and you'll still find the right entity. Our system calculates the similarity between your query and entity names in the database, surfacing close matches when an exact match isn't found.
• Abbreviations work: Search for "JP Morgan" and you'll find "JPMorgan Chase & Co." Search for "DB" and "Deutsche Bank AG" appears in the results.
• Partial names are fine: Don't remember the full legal name? Type what you know. Even a few words from the entity name will typically surface the correct result.
• Non-Latin characters: Searching for entities with names in non-Latin scripts? Our normalisation handles transliteration so you can search using Latin characters for entities registered in Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese, or other scripts.

Advanced Search: Filtering and Refining Results

For compliance professionals and researchers who need precise results, our advanced search lets you filter by:

• Country / Jurisdiction: Narrow results to a specific country using ISO country codes
• Registration Status: Filter for only active LEIs, or specifically find lapsed ones
• Entity Category: Search within specific categories like funds, branches, or general entities

Advanced search is particularly useful when you're dealing with common company names. There may be dozens of entities called "Global Trading Ltd" across different jurisdictions — filters help you pinpoint the exact one.

Bulk LEI Search

Need to look up LEIs for multiple companies at once? Our bulk search feature lets you upload a list of company names or LEI codes and get results for all of them in a single operation. This is invaluable for:

• Onboarding new counterparties in batch
• Annual compliance reviews of existing business relationships
• DORA Register of Information preparation — verifying ICT provider LEIs
• Portfolio-level entity verification for asset managers

What Information Does an LEI Record Contain?

Every LEI record in the GLEIF database contains two levels of information, as we explain in our guide to LEI relationship data:

Why Use Our LEI Search Tool?

While GLEIF provides its own search interface, our platform adds significant value on top of the raw data:

• Fuzzy matching that handles typos, abbreviations, and partial names
• Country-specific registry enrichment — data from Companies House, SEC EDGAR, and other national registries
• Compliance tools — compliance tracking, ISIN mapping, and fund relationship visualisation
• Watchlist alerts — track entities and get notified before their LEI expires
• Bulk operations — search, export, and analyse hundreds of entities at once
• Free to use — no registration required for basic searches

Common Use Cases for LEI Search

Understanding what an LEI is and why it matters helps explain why millions of searches are performed each year:

• KYC/AML Compliance: Verify counterparty identity as part of Know Your Customer processes
• MiFID II Reporting: Identify counterparties for transaction reporting obligations
• Due Diligence: Research potential business partners, vendors, or acquisition targets
• DORA Compliance: Verify ICT provider LEIs for Register of Information submissions
• Credit Risk Assessment: Understand corporate group structures before extending credit