GIIN is an abbreviation of Global Intermediary Identification Number. The FATCA Registration System approves foreign financial institutions (FFI), financial institution (FI) branches, direct reporting non-financial foreign entities (NFFE), sponsoring entities, sponsored entities, and sponsored subsidiary branches. Institutions and entities assigned a GIIN can use it to identify themselves to withholding agents and tax administrators for FATCA reporting purposes.

The GIIN, formatted as XXXXXX.XXXXX.XX.XXX, is a 19-character identification number made up of several identifiers. These characters will never contain the letter “O”.

Position Character Representation Length Description/Rules
1-6 XXXXXX
FATCA ID
6

Numbers and uppercase letters only

Lead FI, single FI, or sponsoring entity - same as the FATCA ID.

Member FI- first 6 characters of the FATCA ID.

FI branch - first 6 characters of the branch’s associated FI’s FATCA ID.

Sponsored entity or sponsored subsidiary branch - the sponsoring entity’s FATCA ID.

7 Separator 1 1 Period - .
8-12 XXXXX
Type
5

Numbers and uppercase letters only

Lead FI- 00000

Single FI- 99999

Sponsoring entity - 00000

Member FI- same as the last 5 characters of the member’s FATCA ID

FI branch - same as the branch’s associated FI

Sponsored entity - same as the last 5 characters of the sponsored entity’s ID

Sponsored subsidiary branch - same as the branch’s associated sponsored entity.

13 Separator 2 1 Period - .
14-15 XX
Category Code
2

Uppercase letters only

Abbreviation for an FI type, sponsored entity classification or branch type:

LE - a lead FI

SL - a single FI

ME - a member FI

BR - an FI branch

SP -a sponsoring entity

SF - a sponsored entity that is a sponsored fund

SD - a sponsored entity that is a sponsored direct reporting NFFE

SS - a sponsored entity that is a sponsored subsidiary

SB - a sponsored subsidiary’s branch

16 Separator 3 1 Period - .
17-19 XXX
Country/Jurisdiction Identifier
3

Numbers only

ISO 3166-1 numeric standard country code of the GIIN holder. Note: 999 - country code “Other”

Test files that contain GIIN examples are available on the FFI List Schema and Test Files page.