XML 120 R101.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.10.0.1

Regulatory Capital - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2018 | Dec. 31, 2017 | Dec. 31, 2016
Sallie Mae Bank |  |  |
Compliance with Regulatory Capital Requirements under Banking Regulations [Line Items] |  |  |
Dividends | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0

X
- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ComplianceWithRegulatoryCapitalRequirementsUnderBankingRegulationsLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount of paid and unpaid cash, stock, and paid-in-kind (PIK) dividends declared, for example, but not limited to, common and preferred stock. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 942 -SubTopic 405 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6957935&loc=d3e64057-112817 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_Dividends
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | dei_LegalEntityAxis=slm_SallieMaeBankMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |