Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	LINCOLN VARIABLE INSURANCE PRODUCTS TRUST
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	May 01, 2017
LVIP BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Managed Risk Fund
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	LVIP BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Managed Risk Fund (Standard and Service Class) Summary
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The investment objective of the LVIP BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Managed Risk Fund (the “Fund”) is to seek capital appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares. This table does not reflect any variable contract expenses. If variable contract expenses were included, the expenses shown would be higher.
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	April 30, 2018
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance.During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 9% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	9.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]	rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent	Other Expenses were restated to reflect the current fee structure of the fund. The Fee Waiver was restated to reflect the current fee waiver of the Fund.
Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]	rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees	The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to the average net assets appearing in the Financial Highlights table which reflects only the operating expenses of the Fund and does not include AFFE.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over the time periods indicated if you invest $10,000 in the Fund’s shares. The example also assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. This example reflects the net operating expenses with fee waiver for the one-year contractual period and the total operating expenses without fee waiver for the remaining time periods shown below. Your actual costs may be higher or lower than this example. This example does not reflect any variable contract expenses. If variable contract expenses were included, the expenses shown would be higher. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period.
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	The Fund, under normal circumstances, pursues its investment objective by primarily investing in another mutual fund, the BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Fund (the “Underlying Fund”), while seeking to stabilize the Fund’s overall portfolio volatility by employing an actively managed risk-management overlay. The Underlying Fund invests in a portfolio of equity, debt and money market securities. Generally, the Underlying Fund’s portfolio will include both equity and debt securities. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock, rights and warrants, or securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock. At any given time, however, the Underlying Fund may emphasize either debt securities or equity securities. In selecting equity investments, the Underlying Fund mainly seeks securities that the Underlying Fund management believes are undervalued. The Underlying Fund may buy debt securities of varying maturities, debt securities paying a fixed or fluctuating rate of interest, and debt securities of any kind, including, by way of example, securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, by foreign governments or international agencies or supranational entities, or by domestic or foreign private issuers, debt securities convertible into equity securities, inflation-indexed bonds, structured notes, credit-linked notes, loan assignments and loan participations. In addition, the Underlying Fund may invest up to 35% of its total assets in “junk bonds,” corporate loans and distressed securities. The Underlying Fund may also invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and securities related to real assets (like real estate- or precious metals-related securities) such as stock, bonds or convertible bonds issued by REITs or companies that mine precious metals. When choosing investments, the Underlying Fund management considers various factors, including opportunities for equity or debt investments to increase in value, expected dividends and interest rates. The Underlying Fund generally seeks diversification across markets, industries and issuers as one of its strategies to reduce volatility. The Underlying Fund has no geographic limits on where it may invest. This flexibility allows the Underlying Fund management to look for investments in markets around the world, including emerging markets, that it believes will provide the best asset allocation to meet the Underlying Fund’s objective. The Underlying Fund may invest in the securities of companies of any market capitalization. Generally, the Underlying Fund may invest in the securities of corporate and governmental issuers located anywhere in the world. The Underlying Fund may emphasize foreign securities when the Underlying Fund management expects these investments to outperform U.S. securities. When choosing investment markets, the Underlying Fund management considers various factors, including economic and political conditions, potential for economic growth and possible changes in currency exchange rates. In addition to investing in foreign securities, the Underlying Fund actively manages its exposure to foreign currencies through the use of forward currency contracts and other currency derivatives. The Underlying Fund may own foreign cash equivalents or foreign bank deposits as part of the Underlying Fund’s investment strategy. The Underlying Fund will also invest in non-U.S. currencies. The Underlying Fund may underweight or overweight a currency based on the Underlying Fund management team’s outlook. The Underlying Fund’s composite Reference Benchmark has at all times since the Underlying Fund’s formation included a 40% weighting in non-U.S. securities. The Reference Benchmark is an unmanaged weighted index comprised as follows: 36% of the S&P 500® Index; 24% FTSE World (ex US) Index; 24% BofA Merrill Lynch Current 5-year US Treasury Index; and 16% Citigroup Non-US Dollar World Government Bond Index. Throughout its history, the Underlying Fund has maintained a weighting in non-U.S. securities, often exceeding the 40% Reference Benchmark weighting and rarely falling below this allocation. Under normal circumstances, the Underlying Fund will continue to allocate a substantial amount (approximately 40% or more — unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Underlying Fund management, in which case the Underlying Fund would invest at least 30%) of its total assets in securities of (i) foreign government issuers, (ii) issuers organized or located outside the United States, (iii) issuers which primarily trade in a market located outside the United States, or (iv) issuers doing a substantial amount of business outside the United States, which the Underlying Fund considers to be companies that derive at least 50% of their revenue or profits from business outside the United States, or have at least 50% of their sales or assets outside the United States. The Underlying Fund will allocate its assets among various regions and countries, including the United States (but in no less than three different countries). For temporary defensive purposes, the Underlying Fund may deviate very substantially from the allocation described above. The Underlying Fund may use derivatives, including options, futures, indexed securities, inverse securities, swaps and forward contracts both to seek to increase the return of the Underlying Fund and to hedge (or protect) the value of its assets against adverse movements in currency exchange rates, interest rates and movements in the securities markets. The Underlying Fund may seek to provide exposure to the investment returns of real assets that trade in the commodity markets through investment in commodity-linked derivative instruments and investment vehicles such as exchange-traded funds that invest exclusively in commodities and are designed to provide this exposure without direct investment in physical commodities. The Underlying Fund may also gain exposure to commodity markets by investing up to 25% of its total assets in BlackRock Cayman Global Allocation V.I. Fund I, Ltd. (the “Subsidiary”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Underlying Fund formed in the Cayman Islands, which invests primarily in commodity-related instruments. The Subsidiary may also hold cash and invest in other instruments, including fixed income securities, either as investments or to serve as margin or collateral for the Subsidiary’s derivative positions. The Subsidiary (unlike the Underlying Fund) may invest without limitation in commodity-related instruments. Risk Management Strategy. The Fund’s adviser has retained Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman” or “overlay manager”) as sub-adviser to the Fund to implement the risk management strategy within the parameters stated below. Although up to 20% of the Fund’s net assets may be used by Milliman to implement the risk management strategy, under normal market conditions it is expected that less than 10% of the Fund’s net assets will be used for the strategy. Milliman uses a proprietary volatility forecasting model to manage the assets allocated to this strategy. As part of the risk management strategy, Milliman will invest the portion of the Fund not invested in underlying funds in exchange-traded futures contracts, cash collateral to support these contracts and/or high-quality short-term money market investments. The risk management strategy consists of using hedging instruments (short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to stabilize the Fund’s overall portfolio volatility and reduce the downside exposure of the Fund during significant market downturns. “Volatility” in this context is a statistical measurement of the frequency and level of changes in the Fund’s returns without regard to the direction of those changes. Volatility may result from rapid and dramatic price swings of securities held directly or indirectly by the Fund. Milliman uses a proprietary model to monitor and forecast volatility and will adjust the level of exchange-traded futures contracts on that basis. Futures contracts can be purchased or sold by the Fund for less than their contract value, allowing an efficient use of Fund assets for the risk management strategy. The risk management strategy is separate and distinct from any riders or features of your insurance contract. Milliman selects individual futures contracts on equity indices of domestic and foreign markets that it believes are highly correlated to the Fund’s equity exposure. Milliman will primarily sell (short) futures contracts on these indices to decrease the Fund’s aggregate economic exposure to equities (from both underlying funds and exchange-traded futures) based upon Milliman’s evaluation of market volatility and downside equity market risk. Short futures contracts increase in value as equity markets decline. Even in periods of low volatility in the equity markets, Milliman will continue to use the hedging techniques designed to preserve gains in favorable market conditions and reduce losses in adverse market conditions. The Fund’s investment in exchange-traded futures and their resulting costs could limit the upside participation of the Fund in strong, appreciating markets relative to unhedged funds. In situations of extreme market volatility, the short positions held in exchange-traded futures could potentially reduce the Fund’s net economic exposure to equity securities to a substantial degree. Additional Information About Investment Strategies The Fund is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act, and as a result may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer than a diversified fund. Through the Underlying Fund, which is a diversified fund, the Fund indirectly owns a broad mix of equity securities (stocks) and fixed income securities (bonds).
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	All mutual funds carry risk. Accordingly, loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. Because the Fund invests its assets in shares of an underlying fund, the Fund indirectly owns the same investments as those made by the Underlying Fund. By investing in the Fund, therefore, you indirectly assume the same types of risks as investing directly in the Underlying Fund. The Fund's investment performance is affected by the Underlying Fund's investment performance, and the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective depends, in part, on the Underlying Fund's ability to meet its investment objective. The following risks reflect the Fund's principal risks, which include the Underlying Fund's principal risks. Market Risk. The value of portfolio investments may decline. As a result, your investment in a fund may decline in value and you could lose money. Growth Stocks Risk. Growth stocks, due to their relatively high market valuations, typically have been more volatile than value stocks. Growth stocks may not pay dividends, or may pay lower dividends, than value stocks and may be more adversely affected in a down market. Value Stocks Risk. Value stocks tend to be inexpensive relative to their earnings or assets compared to other types of stocks, such as growth stocks. Value stocks can continue to be inexpensive for long periods of time, may not ever realize their potential value, and may even go down in price. Medium-Cap Companies Risk. Securities issued by medium-sized companies may be subject to more abrupt market movements and may involve greater risks than investments in larger companies. These less developed, lesser-known companies may experience greater risks than those normally associated with larger companies. This is due to, among other things, the greater business risks of smaller size and limited product lines, markets, distribution channels, and financial and managerial resources. Interest Rate Risk. When interest rates rise, fixed income securities (i.e., debt obligations) generally will decline in value. These declines in value are greater for fixed income securities with longer maturities or durations. Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a debt obligation will be unable or unwilling to make interest or principal payments on time. Credit risk is often gauged by “credit ratings” assigned by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”). A decrease in an issuer’s credit rating may cause a decline in the value of the issuer’s debt obligations. However, credit ratings may not reflect the issuer’s current financial condition or events since the security was last rated by a rating agency. Credit ratings also may be influenced by rating agency conflicts of interest or based on historical data that are no longer applicable or accurate. Prepayment/Call Risk. Debt securities are subject to prepayment risk when the issuer can "call" the security, or repay principal, in whole or in part, prior to the security's maturity. When the Fund reinvests the prepayments of principal it receives, it may receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on the called security. Below Investment Grade Bond Risk. Below investment grade bonds, otherwise known as “high yield” bonds (“junk” bonds), generally have a greater risk of principal loss than investment grade bonds. Below investment grade bonds are often considered speculative and involve significantly higher credit risk and liquidity risk. The value of these bonds may fluctuate more than the value of higher-rated debt obligations, and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty or periods of rising interest rates and may be subject to negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less secondary market liquidity. High Yield Loan Risk. Bank loans (e.g., loan assignments and participations), like other high yield corporate debt obligations, have a higher risk of default and may be less liquid and/or become illiquid. Convertible Bond Risk. The market value of a convertible bond performs like that of a regular debt security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible bond usually falls. In addition, convertible bonds are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due, and their market value may change based on changes in the issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness. Convertible bonds are also usually subordinate to other debt securities issued by the same issuer. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be converted, a convertible bond is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying security. Foreign Investments Risk. Foreign investments have additional risks that are not present when investing in U.S. investments. Foreign currency fluctuations or economic or financial instability could cause the value of foreign investments to fluctuate. Additionally, foreign investments include the risk of loss from foreign government or political actions including; for example, the imposition of exchange controls, confiscations and other government restrictions, or from problems in registration, settlement or custody. Investing in foreign investments may involve risks resulting from the reduced availability of public information concerning issuers. Foreign investments may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than comparable investments in U.S. issuers. Emerging Markets Risk. Companies located in emerging markets tend to be less liquid, have more volatile prices, and have significant potential for loss in comparison to investments in developed markets. Regional Risk. The Fund will generally have more exposure to the specific market, currency, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical, or other risks in the regions or countries in which it invests. As a result, the Fund could experience substantial illiquidity, volatility or reduction in the value of its investments, as compared to a more geographically-diversified fund. Sovereign Debt Risk. Sovereign debt instruments are subject to the risk that a governmental entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity’s debt position in relation to the economy or the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies. Commodities Related Investment Risks. Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative investments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or sectors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. Investing in commodities, including through commodity-linked derivative instruments is speculative. The current or “spot” prices of physical commodities may also affect, in a volatile and inconsistent manner, the prices of futures contracts in respect of the relevant commodity. Moreover, growth in industrial production and gross domestic product has made China and other developing nations oversized users of commodities and has increased the extent to which certain commodities prices are influenced by those markets. Real Estate and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Risk. Investing in real estate securities (including REITs) is subject to the risks associated with the direct ownership and development of real estate. These risks include declines in real estate values, fluctuations in rental income (due in part to vacancies and rates), increases in operating costs and property taxes, increases in financing costs or inability to procure financing, potential environmental liabilities and changes in zoning laws and other regulations. REITs whose underlying properties are concentrated in a particular industry or geographic region are subject to risks affecting such industries and regions. The securities of REITs involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements because of interest rate changes, economic conditions and other factors. Securities of such issuers may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. Distressed Securities Risk. Distressed securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. A fund that invests in distressed securities will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and may incur costs to protect its investment. In addition, distressed securities involve the substantial risk that principal will not be repaid. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment. Consequently, the fund may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio company, the fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such securities may be subject to restrictions on resale. Structured Notes Risk. Structured notes and other related instruments are generally privately negotiated debt obligations where the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to the performance of a specific asset, benchmark asset, market or interest rate (“reference measure”). The purchase of structured notes exposes a fund to the credit risk of the issuer of the structured product. Structured notes may be leveraged, increasing the volatility of each structured note’s value relative to the change in the reference measure. Structured notes may also be less liquid and more difficult to price accurately than less complex securities and instruments or more traditional debt securities. Subsidiary Risk. By investing in a subsidiary, a fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the subsidiary’s investments. The commodity-related instruments held by the Underlying Fund’s subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Underlying Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the Underlying Fund (see “Commodities Related Investment Risks” above). There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act, and, unless otherwise noted in the Underlying Fund’s prospectus, is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. However, the Underlying Fund wholly owns and controls the Subsidiary, and the Underlying Fund and the Subsidiary are both managed by BlackRock, making it unlikely that the Subsidiary will take action contrary to the interests of the Underlying Fund and its shareholders. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Underlying Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in the Underlying Fund’s prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) and could adversely affect the Underlying Fund. Warrants Risk. If the price of the underlying stock does not rise above the exercise price before the warrant expires, the warrant generally expires without any value and a fund loses any amount it paid for the warrant. Thus, investments in warrants may involve substantially more risk than investments in common stock. Warrants may trade in the same markets as their underlying stock; however, the price of the warrant does not necessarily move with the price of the underlying stock. Derivatives Risk. Derivatives, such as futures, forwards, options and swaps, involve risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. Derivatives prices can be volatile and may move in unexpected ways, especially in unusual market conditions. Some derivatives are particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates. In addition, there may be imperfect correlation between the price of the derivatives contract and the price of the underlying securities. Other risks include the potential inability to terminate or sell derivative positions. Further, losses could result if the counterparty to a transaction does not perform as promised. Derivative instruments may be "leveraged", which may magnify or otherwise increase investment losses. Risk Management Strategy Risk. The success of the Fund’s risk management strategy depends in part on the overlay manager’s ability to effectively and efficiently implement its risk forecasts and to manage the strategy for the Fund’s benefit. The risk management strategy may depend upon one or more of the overlay manager’s proprietary forecasting models and information and data from one or more third parties to support the proprietary forecasting models. There is no guarantee that the models or the data the models are based on will be accurate or that the Fund can achieve or maintain optimal risk targets. The Fund’s performance may be negatively impacted in certain underlying markets as a result of reliance on these models. The Fund’s performance may also be impacted by the Fund’s use of short futures positions to implement the risk management strategy. Certain markets could negatively impact the success of the risk management strategy, such as rapidly and unpredictably changing markets, “v-shaped” markets (a sharp market sell-off followed by a strong rally retracing such sell-off), or other extreme or disrupted markets, each of which could cause the Fund to be invested in the market when it declines or to be uninvested when the market appreciates. Leverage Risk. Investment in certain derivatives, including certain futures contracts, may have the economic effect of creating financial leverage by creating additional investment exposure, as well as the potential for greater loss. Losses on derivatives may exceed the amount invested. Futures Risk. A futures contract is considered a derivative because it derives its value from the price of the underlying security or financial index. The prices of futures contracts can be volatile, and futures contracts may be illiquid. In addition, there may be imperfect or even negative correlation between the price of the futures contracts and the price of the underlying securities. Losses on futures contracts may exceed the amount invested. Hedging Risk. The success of a hedging strategy cannot be guaranteed. Effective hedging requires correctly assessing the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the investments in the portfolio being hedged, as well as continual recalculation, readjustment, and execution of hedges in an efficient and timely manner. For example, futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not track those of the underlying securities or indices they are intended to hedge. Non-Diversification Risk. When a mutual fund is non-diversified, it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer than a diversified fund. Therefore, a fund’s value may decrease because of a single investment or a small number of investments. Depository Receipts Risk. Depository receipts are receipts issued by a bank or trust company and evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by foreign companies. Some foreign securities are traded in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Depository receipts are subject to the risks usually associated with foreign securities, including risks associated with investing in the particular country, including the political, regulatory, economic, social and other conditions or events occurring in the country, as well as fluctuations in its currency. In addition, ADR holders may not have all the legal rights of shareholders and may experience difficulty in receiving shareholder communications.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	All mutual funds carry risk. Accordingly, loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]	rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus	Non-Diversification Risk. When a mutual fund is non-diversified, it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer than a diversified fund. Therefore, a fund’s value may decrease because of a single investment or a small number of investments.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Fund Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of choosing to invest in the Fund. The information shows: (a) how the Fund's Standard Class investment results have varied from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund's Standard and Service Classes for various periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund's Standard Class shares, but does not reflect the impact of variable contract expenses. If it did, returns would be lower than those shown. Performance in the average annual returns table does not reflect the impact of variable contract expenses. The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The information shows: (a) how the Fund's Standard Class investment results have varied from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund's Standard and Service Classes for various periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.
Performance Additional Market Index [Text]	rr_PerformanceAdditionalMarketIndex	The BlackRock Global Allocation Composite, an unmanaged index compiled by the Fund’s adviser, is constructed as follows: 36% S&P 500® Index , 24% FTSE World (Ex US) Index, 24% Bank of America Merrill Lynch 5-year U.S. Treasury Bond Index and 16% Citigroup Non-U.S. Dollar World Government Bond Index. The performance of the BlackRock Global Allocation Composite does not reflect the impact of the risk management strategy used by the Fund. Such strategy would impact the returns shown.
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Annual Total Returns (%)
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The bar chart shows performance of the Fund's Standard Class shares, but does not reflect the impact of variable contract expenses. If it did, returns would be lower than those shown.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	During the periods shown in the above chart, the Fund’s highest return for a quarter occurred in the third quarter of 2016 at: 3.48%. The Fund’s lowest return for a quarter occurred in the third quarter of 2015 at: (6.98%).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns For periods ended 12/31/16
LVIP BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Managed Risk Fund | Standard Class
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Management Fee	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.75%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.06%	[1]
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE)	rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets	0.72%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.53%	[2],[3]
Less Fee Waiver	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.67%)	[4],[5]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	0.86%	[6]
1 year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 88
3 years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	418
5 years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	771
10 years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,766
1 year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	88
3 years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	418
5 years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	771
10 years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,766
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	(0.21%)
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(4.32%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	2.85%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2016
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	3.48%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2015
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(6.98%)
1 year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.85%
Lifetime Since inception	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	1.42%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	May 01, 2013
LVIP BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Managed Risk Fund | Service Class
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Management Fee	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.75%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.35%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.06%	[1]
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE)	rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets	0.72%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.88%	[2],[3]
Less Fee Waiver	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	(0.67%)	[4],[5]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.21%	[6]
1 year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 123
3 years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	526
5 years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	954
10 years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	2,146
1 year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	123
3 years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	526
5 years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	954
10 years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 2,146
1 year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.50%
Lifetime Since inception	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	1.07%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	May 01, 2013
LVIP BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Managed Risk Fund | S&P 500® Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	11.96%
Lifetime Since inception	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	11.99%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	May 01, 2013
LVIP BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Managed Risk Fund | BlackRock Global Allocation Composite (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	6.06%	[7]
Lifetime Since inception	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	4.47%	[7]
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	May 01, 2013	[7]

[1] Other Expenses were restated to reflect the current fee structure of the fund.

[2] (including AFFE)

[3] The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to the average net assets appearing in the Financial Highlights table which reflects only the operating expenses of the Fund and does not include AFFE.

[4] Lincoln Investment Advisors Corporation (the “adviser”) has contractually agreed to waive the following portion of its advisory fee: 0.67% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The agreement will continue at least through April 30, 2018 and cannot be terminated before that date without the mutual agreement of the Fund’s board of trustees and the adviser.

[5] The Fee Waiver was restated to reflect the current fee waiver of the Fund.

[6] (After Fee Waiver)

[7] The BlackRock Global Allocation Composite, an unmanaged index compiled by the Fund’s adviser, is constructed as follows: 36% S&P 500® Index , 24% FTSE World (Ex US) Index, 24% Bank of America Merrill Lynch 5-year U.S. Treasury Bond Index and 16% Citigroup Non-U.S. Dollar World Government Bond Index. The performance of the BlackRock Global Allocation Composite does not reflect the impact of the risk management strategy used by the Fund. Such strategy would impact the returns shown.