LEI Namespace

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The LEI Uniform Resource Name (URN) Namespace is recognized by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), the industry body responsible for the global coordination of the DNS Root, IP addressing and other Internet protocols. IANA’s recognition of this Namespace promotes global uniformity in the naming of an LEI and how it should be represented as a URN in code.

URNs are resource identifiers with the specific requirements for enabling location independent identification of a resource, as well as longevity of reference. A Namespace is a declarative region that provides a scope to the identifiers (the names of types, functions, variables, etc.) inside it. Namespaces are used to organize code and resources into logical groups and guard against the risk of ‘name collisions’ that can occur through inconsistent naming references.

The format for the LEI URN is as follows (not case sensitive): URN:LEI:[20-digit LEI code] – for example: urn:LEI:7LTWFZYICNSX8D621K86

The public recognition of the LEI Namespace and its structure is a significant step forward in ensuring global uniformity in LEI-related code. Benefits of this recognition include:

• Technical clarity and standardization of the LEI, leading to greater security, consistency and trust in the name of the 20-digit LEI code.
• Software applications can easily use or resolve the assigned URNs (e.g., by differentiating among different URN namespaces, identifying resources in a persistent fashion, or meaningfully resolving and accessing services associated with the URN namespace).
• The ability to resolve the LEI to its entity and relationship data for any relevant purpose.

An example use case is as follows:

• Company A, based in Europe, gets an LEI code from company B, based in China, via a secure mechanism, such as a digital certificate or verifiable credential.
• In order to check that the LEI from the company B is properly formed, company A can access the URN definition from a third party, such as IANA.
• The definition helps company A to check the right syntax conformation according to ISO 17442 and conclude if the LEI is named correctly.

GLEIF sought recognition for the LEI Namespace from IANA following a request from the co-chairs of the W3C Rights Automation Community Group to use the LEI to identify parties involved in the use of market data (exchanges, intermediaries, banks etc.). The co-chairs specifically have asked GLEIF to work on developing a URN (RFC 8141) namespace identifier associated with LEIs.

Where to find the LEI Namespace

The LEI Namespace can be found on the IANA website, along with a full list of regulated identifiers.

Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) is responsible for the coordination and audit of the Internet’s unique identifiers.