This paper explores the importance of legal identity documents and need to deepen understanding of implications of lacking such documents for any citizen of a country, particularly for people from vulnerable or disadvantaged groups such as children in Child Care Institutions in India. It presents the problematic access to legal identification documents by people living in poverty/difficult situations, the origin and causes of the problem and highlighted the areas of advocacy to bring change in mechanisms. This study documented existing Acts, Rules and Amendments for different entitlements; studied Government’s policies and laid out processes in India to access legal identity documents in sample cities. It also explored practical challenges faced by young adults and team member of Rainbow Homes Program, an NGO working for street children in India. The study also documents practices and challenges faced by sample NGOs practicing child care in 5 cities-Kolkata, Hyderabad, Patna, Bangalore and Delhi