What are level 1 or level 2 data?

When information is released, LEI codes are provided by using an underlying Common Data Format (CDF) structure. This Legal Entity Identifier (LE-RD) data includes aspects such as the legal form, status, legal name, and address of the legal entity in question.

The Global LEI Foundation classifies this information as Level 1 data, which is "who is who" information. Level 2 information was introduced in May 2017 to disclose specific ownership details. If there are parent parent entities (where such parent entity is defined from an accounting perspective), records of the legal relationship between entities (LE-RR) are also provided in a CDF format. In situations where there are no parent or direct parent entities, special exception rules are applied.

In the optimal case, the legal relationship (LE-RR) data includes the LEI codes of the parent parent entities as an integrated part of the data structure. However, for cases where a parent company has not yet been assigned an LEI, Parent Reference Data (PRD) are used. These assist the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) in creating a more comprehensive representation of the links and ensuring that the refinements in the GLEIS model are implemented effectively.