Finance Receivables, net (Schedule of Valuation Allowance Account) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Certain Loans Acquired in Transfer Not Accounted for as Debt Securities, Allowance For Loan Losses [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance		$ 264,591		$ 257,148
Allowance charges		8,087		21,596
Reversal of previously recorded allowance charges		(3,951)		(10,169)
Net allowance charges	$ 0	4,136	$ 0	11,427
Foreign currency translation adjustment		(1,192)		(1,040)
Ending balance		$ 267,535		$ 267,535

Certain Loans Acquired In Transfer, Not Accounted For As Debt Securities, Net Allowance Charge

No definition available.

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- Definition

Certain Loans Acquired in Transfer Not Accounted for as Debt Securities, Allowance For Loan Losses [Roll Forward]

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Certain Loans Acquired in Transfer Not Accounted for as Debt Securities, Allowance for Loan Losses, Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	praa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
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- Definition

Reserve for loans impairments recorded after acquisition as a result of current information and events which result in it being probable that estimated cash flows will be less than previously expected or because actual cash flows are less than cash flows previously expected. This relates to loans not accounted for as debt securities, with evidence of deterioration of credit quality since origination that was acquired by completion of a transfer for which it is probable, at acquisition, that the investor will be unable to collect all contractually required payments receivable.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 310
-SubTopic 30
-Section 15
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121585399&loc=d3e13503-111538

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 310
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (b)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121614798&loc=d3e15032-111544

+ Details

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- Definition

Amount of reduction in the reserve for loans impairments as a result of current information and events which result in it being probable that estimated cash flows will be significantly higher than previously expected or because actual cash flows are significantly greater than cash flows previously expected for loans not accounted for as debt securities, with evidence of deterioration of credit quality since origination that was acquired by completion of a transfer for which it is probable, at acquisition, that the investor will be unable to collect all contractually required payments receivable.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Amount of expense related to loan loss not accounted for as debt securities, with evidence of deterioration of credit quality.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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