LEI renewal: how it works and what happens if it lapses
When to renew an LEI, what a lapsed LEI means for trading and how multi-year plans avoid missed renewals.
Updated 03 November 2026 · Joel Mitt, LEImint OÜ
An LEI must be renewed once a year. Renewal means the LEI Issuer re-checks your company’s data against the business register. The LEI code itself never changes.
What happens if I don’t renew?
The status in the GLEIF database changes to LAPSED. The code still exists, but banks and brokers generally will not execute trades for a company whose LEI has lapsed until it is renewed.
When should I renew?
Any time before the renewal date shown on your LEI record. Renewing early does not shorten your current period. You can find the date with our free LEI lookup.
How to never miss a renewal
- Multi-year plan: choose 3 or 5 years and your LEI is renewed automatically every year.
- Free reminder: add your LEI and e-mail, and we remind you 60, 30, 14, 7 and 1 day before the renewal date, even if you are not our customer.
Renewal or transfer?
We can submit the renewal directly if the LEI is already managed by our partner LEI Issuer. If another LEI Issuer manages it, the renewal is combined with a free transfer. See how LEI transfers work.