Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	NORTHERN INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 01, 2019
Document Creation Date	dei_DocumentCreationDate	Nov. 27, 2019

The exact name of the entity filing the report as specified in its charter, which is required by forms filed with the SEC.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation 12B
-Number 240
-Section 12
-Subsection b-2

Name:	dei_EntityRegistrantName
Namespace Prefix:	dei_
Data Type:	xbrli:normalizedStringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration