Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)

That depends on your situation. Usually, your bank or financial service provider will tell you if you need an LEI. Under European legislation such as EMIR, MiFID II, SFTR and DORA, it is well known that LEIs are used.

You can apply for an LEI if you are registered in the Business Register with the organisation for which you are applying for the LEI.

You need DigiD to apply for an LEI. Do you not have DigiD? Apply for it on the DigiD website. You need a citizen service number (BSN).

Do you live outside the Netherlands and do you not have a DigiD? Check which situation applies to you.

• Are you a Dutch citizen? You can apply for a DigiD. The DigiD explains how to do this.
• Are you not a Dutch national, but a national of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA)? First register with the Registration of Non-Residents (RNI). After registering with the RNI, you will immediately receive a citizen service number (BSN) and you can apply for a DigiD. The DigiD explains how to do this.
• Are you a national of a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA)? Then you cannot use DigiD.

After the 2008 financial crisis, the G20 developed the LEI (Legal Entity Identifier). It is a unique 20-character identification number that clarifies who is involved in which financial transactions. The system is used worldwide to better track and manage risks.

The LEI is now becoming an international standard for business identification, not only in the financial world but also beyond. This helps improve transparency, reliability, and efficiency in all kinds of processes involving legal entities.

An LEI is valid for one year after it is issued. If you do not renew it, the LEI will be given the status 'lapsed' (expired). This may have consequences for the financial transactions your organisation is allowed to carry out. Contact your bank or asset manager to find out whether you need to renew your LEI.

The LEI registration renews automatically. You will receive a reminder 8 weeks before the renewal date. You will receive an invoice 4 weeks before the renewal date. On the renewal date, we will send you another message to confirm that the LEI has been renewed.

Some LEI registrations require additional information. We will contact you if this is the case.

If you do not want the LEI to be renewed, please fill in the form to end your LEI (in Dutch).

Have you chosen to end the active status of your LEI yourself? You can re-apply for a new LEI. Has your LEI expired because you did not provide the parent company's details? Then select the option Extend LEI (in Dutch).

Your organisation's LEI becomes inactive if:

• the legal structure of your organisation and the KVK number change. LEIs are connected to legal structures. Do you want to order a LEI for your new legal structure? Apply for a new LEI.  
• your organisation is deregistered from the Business Register; 
• you or another authorised official of your organisation fills out the form to render your LEI inactive (in Dutch). The LEI will remain active until its expiration date. 

KVK regulates the issuance and registration of LEIs in the Netherlands on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The fee we charge covers the costs of issuing LEIs, maintaining the register, and keeping the data up to date. Part of the fee goes to the Global LEI Foundation. The fee has been approved by the ministry and is one of the lowest worldwide.

The conformity flag helps indicate whether an organisation complies with the rules for having a LEI. A LEI is given the status “compliant” if it meets 2 conditions.

1. 1. The LEI registration is up to date.
   2. The organisation has a parent company and all details about the direct and ultimate parent company have been provided. Alternatively, a valid reason has been given for not providing these details.

Are the details of an LEI incorrect? Send an email to lei@kvk.nl and include the following information.

• Your name.
• Name of your organisation.
• The LEI, name and KVK number of the organisation whose details are incorrect.
• Which details are incorrect.

Financial crisis in 2008

Many banks, financial institutions, supervising authorities, and governments are unsure who they are doing business with. It is difficult to determine what risks there are and how to respond to them.

Need for security and transparency

In 2009, the G20 (in Dutch), a group comprising the world's largest economies, issued a mandate. The aim was to ensure greater security and transparency in global financial markets.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) was established in the same year. This organisation was tasked with improving risk management in the financial sector. The FSB devised a system that would enable organisations worldwide to be uniquely identified: the LEI.

Supervision

In 2012, the LEI Regulatory Oversight Committee (LEI ROC) was established to supervise the LEI system.

To put the system into practice, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) was established in 2014. This organisation coordinates and manages the LEI system worldwide. It also accredits the Local Operating Units (LOUs), which are responsible for issuing and managing LEI codes for organisations.

A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) contains important details about an organisation. For example: the LEI code, name, address, country of establishment, legal form, date of issue, information about the register in which the organisation is registered, and the LEI administrator.

Download the LEI terms of use (PDF).

You will receive the invoice within two working days after receiving the LEI. We will send it to the email address you used to request it. If we already have a billing email address for your organisation, you will receive the invoice at that address.

How you change the invoice address depends on how you receive your invoices.

Invoices by post

Your invoice address is always the registered office or postal address of your business or organisation, as shown in the Business Register. We usually change the invoice address automatically if you notify us that the address of your business or organisation has changed. You can do this via My KVK or via Report a change.

Has the invoice address not been updated by us? Fill in the enquiry form on our website: 'stel een vraag online' (ask a question online, in Dutch). Select ‘Bestellingen en facturen’ (Orders and invoices). Enter the new and old billing address.

Digital invoices

Do you receive your invoices digitally and has your email address changed? From the email you received with your invoice, go to the payment portal. Under contact details, you can change the email address. You will receive a confirmation of this on your old email address.