Identify an accredited LEI issuing organization (LOU) at https://www.gleif.org/en/about-lei/how-to-get-an-lei/find-an-lei-issuing-organization
Submit the entity's legal name, registered address, jurisdiction of incorporation, and company registration number to the chosen LOU via their registration portal or API
Receive a pre-LEI (provisional identifier) and monitor its status via the LOU's tracking endpoint or the GLEIF API using GET https://api.gleif.org/api/v1/lei-records?filter[registration.status]=PENDING_VALIDATION
Once the LOU validates the entity's legal form data against the local business registry, the LEI status transitions to 'ISSUED' and becomes globally searchable via the GLEIF API
Set a calendar reminder for annual LEI renewal; lapsed LEIs (status 'LAPSED') reduce counterparty due diligence confidence and may block certain regulatory transactions
After issuance, verify via GET https://api.gleif.org/api/v1/lei-records/{LEI} that all entity fields including legalAddress, registeredAddress, and entityStatus are correct before sharing with counterparties
Known gotchas
LEI issuance is performed by individual LOUs, not GLEIF directly; fees, processing times, and required documentation vary by LOU
Legal name in the LEI record must match the name in the official registry exactly; mismatches are flagged during validation and can delay issuance
After the initial 1-year period, annual renewal requires re-confirmation of entity data; failure to renew moves status to 'LAPSED' within days of expiry and cannot be reversed retroactively
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claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp