For many Indian finance teams, the news that their LEI code has lapsed arrives at the worst possible moment. The bank's operations desk comes back with questions about a ₹50 crore RTGS payment, a forex forward to hedge an import bill cannot be booked, the annual renewal of working capital limits stalls, or a foreign counterparty's compliance team flags the company during onboarding. India LEI is an official LEI registration agent for businesses in India. It works with EQS Group, a Local Operating Unit (LOU) accredited by GLEIF to issue LEIs, and helps companies register, renew and manage their LEIs, while the LEI itself is always issued by an accredited issuer within the Global LEI System. A lapsed LEI is one of the most common LEI problems, and one of the easiest to fix once you know what the status actually means.
What Does "Lapsed" Mean?
An LEI, or Legal Entity Identifier, is an alphanumeric code of 20 characters, based on the ISO 17442 standard, that identifies a legal entity in financial transactions. Unlike a PAN, CIN or GSTIN, an LEI is not something you register once and forget. Every LEI record carries a next renewal date, usually one year after the code was issued or last renewed. By that date, the company's reference data, such as its legal name, registered address and registration number, has to be verified again against official sources.
If the renewal is not completed in time, the registration status in the Global LEI Index maintained by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) changes from "Issued" to "Lapsed". GLEIF defines a lapsed LEI as a registration that has not been renewed by its next renewal date and is not known by public sources to have ceased operation.
Three things are worth knowing. First, a lapsed LEI is not cancelled or deleted. The code stays the same and remains with your company permanently, and it is never reassigned to another entity. Second, "Lapsed" means the data is overdue for revalidation. It does not necessarily mean the data is wrong, but counterparties and regulators can no longer rely on it having been verified on schedule. Third, a new LEI is not the solution. Each legal entity can hold only one LEI, so applying for a second code would create a duplicate registration. The right step is to renew the existing one.
"Lapsed" should also not be confused with "Retired", the status used when an entity has ceased operation, for example after it has been dissolved, struck off or merged into another company.
How Common Are Lapsed LEIs?
Worldwide, lapsing is surprisingly common. GLEIF's Global LEI System Business Report put the global renewal rate at just 57.1% in Q2 2026, and GLEIF data shows that around 1.2 million LEIs (about 12 lakh) were in lapsed status at the start of October 2026.
India performs far better than the global average. Its renewal rate of 78.5% in Q2 2026 placed it third in GLEIF's ranking, behind only Japan and Finland, a reflection of how closely Indian regulators link the LEI to everyday financial transactions. Even so, GLEIF data shows around 65,000 Indian LEIs in lapsed status as of 1 October 2026, or roughly one in six of all LEIs registered to Indian entities.
Codes usually lapse for practical rather than deliberate reasons. The LEI may have been obtained for a single specific need, such as a loan sanction or a large cross-border remittance, and then forgotten. Renewal reminders may go to a former employee, an external consultant or a mailbox nobody checks. The CFO, company secretary or chartered accountant who arranged the code may have moved on. Or the company may simply assume that, like a PAN or CIN, the LEI is valid for life.
Why a Lapsed LEI Is a Business Risk in India
In India, the LEI is built into several core financial processes regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). That is why a lapsed code tends to surface during a transaction rather than during a routine compliance review.
Financial markets regulated by the RBI. Under the Reserve Bank of India (Unique Identifiers in Financial Markets) Directions, 2026, issued on 27 March 2026, entities other than individuals that undertake OTC transactions in government securities, money market instruments, foreign exchange instruments and derivatives must hold an LEI and must ensure that the code is "current" under the rules of the Global LEI System and has not lapsed. For client forex transactions that are not derivatives, the requirement applies from USD 1 million upwards. OTC derivatives, such as forex forwards and swaps used to hedge import or export exposure, are also covered. Entities without a valid LEI are not eligible to transact in these markets, and regulated intermediaries and market infrastructure institutions must record the LEI of the transacting parties.
Large payments. Since 1 April 2021, RTGS and NEFT payments of ₹50 crore and above undertaken by entities are expected to carry the LEI details of the remitter and beneficiary. Since 1 October 2022, the same ₹50 crore threshold applies per transaction to cross-border capital and current account transactions, and authorised dealer (AD) banks must validate the LEI they capture against the GLEIF database. A lapsed status is visible in that check and can lead to queries or delays at exactly the moment a large payment has to go out.
Bank borrowing. Borrowers other than individuals with an aggregate exposure of ₹5 crore and above to banks and financial institutions need an LEI. Under RBI rules, borrowers who do not obtain one are not to be sanctioned new exposure, nor can their existing facilities be renewed or enhanced. In practice, a lapsed code may therefore also come up when limits are reviewed or renewed.
Securities markets. SEBI requires issuers of listed non-convertible securities to obtain and report an LEI. For foreign portfolio investors, SEBI's rules are explicit. The accounts of FPIs whose LEI has expired or lapsed are blocked for further purchases in the securities market until the code is renewed.
International counterparties. Banks, brokers and investors outside India often look up the LEI in the GLEIF database during onboarding and due diligence. A record showing "Lapsed" signals that the company's data has not been verified again on schedule, which can mean extra questions or delays, particularly in markets such as the EU, where brokers generally need a client's LEI before executing reportable trades.
How to Renew a Lapsed LEI in a Few Steps
The good news is that a lapsed LEI can be renewed at any time, and the company keeps the same code. In most cases, renewal is a simple online process that takes very little of your team's attention.
Check the current status. Search for your company or LEI on the GLEIF website (search.gleif.org) or in India LEI's company database, and note the registration status, the next renewal date and the LEI issuer currently managing the code.
Compare your data with the company register. Renewal includes revalidation of the company's reference data against the records of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). If anything has changed since the last renewal, such as a shift of registered office, a change of name or a conversion from a private to a public company, it can be updated in the same step. For entities not registered with the MCA, such as trusts, societies or partnership firms, keep a current registration certificate or deed at hand.
Choose where to renew. You are not tied to the provider that currently manages the code. A lapsed LEI can be transferred to another provider and renewed in the same order. At India LEI, the transfer itself is free, and for a lapsed code it is always combined with a renewal, so you pay only for the renewal. Renewing with your current provider is usually the simplest route, while a transfer adds a confirmation step with the previous provider.
Sign and pay. With India LEI, company details are retrieved automatically from MCA records. You choose a renewal for one year or a package of prepaid annual renewals for three or five years, sign a power of attorney and pay by card, net banking or bank transfer, and you receive a GST invoice in rupees.
Confirm and inform. Once the issuer has revalidated the data, the status returns to "Issued" in the GLEIF database. Check the record and, if a transaction was on hold, share the updated details or LEI certificate with your bank or counterparty.
How to Avoid a Lapse in Future
Renewal is an annual requirement of the Global LEI System, but your team does not have to handle it every year. With a package covering three or five years, the annual renewals are prepaid and India LEI carries out each one automatically, typically 30 to 60 days before the next renewal date, at a lower cost per year than renewing year by year. The code is still renewed every year, as the Global LEI System requires, but nobody has to remember to do it.
A few simple habits help as well. Send renewal reminders to a shared finance or compliance mailbox rather than an individual's inbox, and add the next renewal date to your compliance calendar alongside annual MCA filings such as AOC-4 and MGT-7 and your GST return deadlines. Keep your LEI data aligned with MCA records, too. If your registered office or name changes, let your provider know, and India LEI will arrange the update of the GLEIF record free of charge.
India LEI supports LEI registration, renewal and transfer for businesses in India. Because company data is retrieved from MCA records, customers have only a few steps to complete and can get back to their actual work. Indian companies can check their LEI status and renew a lapsed code through indialei.in.
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