Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Principles of Consolidation	These financial statements include the accounts of Rent-A-Center, Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
New Accounting Pronouncements	In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which clarifies existing accounting literature relating to how and when a company recognizes revenue. Under ASU 2014-09, a company will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods and services. On July 9, 2015, the FASB approved a one-year deferral of the effective date. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net), which amends ASU 2014-09 relating to how and when a company recognizes revenue when another party is involved in providing a good or service to a customer. Under Topic 606, a company will recognize revenue on a gross basis when it provides a good or service to a customer (acts as the principal in a transaction), and on a net basis when it arranges for the good or service to be provided to the customer by another party (acts as an agent in a transaction). ASU 2016-08 provides additional guidance for determining whether a company acts as a principal or agent, depending primarily on whether a company controls goods or services before delivery to the customer. In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, which provides additional guidance related to the identification of performance obligations within the contract, and licensing. In May 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, which provides additional guidance related to certain technical areas within ASU 2014-09. In December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which provides additional guidance related to certain technical areas within ASU 2014-09. The adoption of these additional ASUs must be concurrent with the adoption of ASU 2014-09, which will be required for us beginning January 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted as of the original effective date. These ASUs allow adoption with either retrospective application to each prior period presented, or modified retrospective application with the cumulative effect recognized as of the date of initial application. We are currently in the process of evaluating the potential impact this new pronouncement will have on our financial statements and do not anticipate early adoption. We have not completed our evaluation and therefore cannot conclude whether the pronouncement will have a significant impact on our financial statements at this time. We expect to complete our evaluation by the end of 2017. We currently anticipate that we will utilize the modified retrospective method of adoption, however, this expectation may change following the completion of our evaluation of the impact of this pronouncement on our financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which replaces existing accounting literature relating to the classification of, and accounting for, leases. Under ASU 2016-02, a company must recognize for all leases (with the exception of leases with terms less than 12 months) a liability representing a lessee's obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, and a right-of-use asset representing the lessee's right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. Lessor accounting is largely unchanged, with certain improvements to align lessor accounting with the lessee accounting model and Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The adoption of ASU 2016-02 will be required for us beginning January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The ASU must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition, applying the new criteria to all leases existing or entered into after the beginning of the earliest comparative period in the consolidated financial statements. We are currently in the process of determining what impact the adoption of this ASU will have on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows, and we are evaluating the adoption date and transition alternatives. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which includes multiple provisions intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for share-based payments. Rent-A-Center adopted ASU 2016-09 beginning January 1, 2017. We adopted the recognition of excess tax benefits in the provision for income taxes rather than paid-in-capital, and the classification of excess tax benefits on the statement of cash flows on a prospective basis. We elected to continue to estimate forfeitures expected to occur in our determination of compensation cost recognized each period. Furthermore, we adopted the minimum statutory withholding requirements and classification of employee taxes paid on the statement of cash flows on a modified retrospective and full retrospective basis, respectively. Additional amendments included in the accounting standard update were not applicable to us. Impacts resulting from adoption were immaterial to the consolidated financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which provides guidance on the treatment of cash receipts and cash payments for certain types of cash transactions, to eliminate diversity in practice in the presentation of the cash flow statement. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 will be required for us on a retrospective basis beginning January 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted. We are currently in the process of determining the adoption date and what impact the adoption of this ASU will have on our presentation of cash flows. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which simplifies the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating the hypothetical purchase price allocation and instead using the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the reporting unit. The adoption of ASU 2017-04 will be required for us on a prospective basis beginning January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted. We are currently in the process of determining the adoption date and what impact the adoption of this ASU will have on our financial statements. From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standards setting bodies that we adopt as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, we believe the impact of any other recently issued standards that are not yet effective are either not applicable to us at this time or will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements upon adoption.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which clarifies existing accounting literature relating to how and when a company recognizes revenue. Under ASU 2014-09, a company will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods and services. On July 9, 2015, the FASB approved a one-year deferral of the effective date. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net), which amends ASU 2014-09 relating to how and when a company recognizes revenue when another party is involved in providing a good or service to a customer. Under Topic 606, a company will recognize revenue on a gross basis when it provides a good or service to a customer (acts as the principal in a transaction), and on a net basis when it arranges for the good or service to be provided to the customer by another party (acts as an agent in a transaction). ASU 2016-08 provides additional guidance for determining whether a company acts as a principal or agent, depending primarily on whether a company controls goods or services before delivery to the customer. In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, which provides additional guidance related to the identification of performance obligations within the contract, and licensing. In May 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, which provides additional guidance related to certain technical areas within ASU 2014-09. In December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which provides additional guidance related to certain technical areas within ASU 2014-09. The adoption of these additional ASUs must be concurrent with the adoption of ASU 2014-09, which will be required for us beginning January 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted as of the original effective date. These ASUs allow adoption with either retrospective application to each prior period presented, or modified retrospective application with the cumulative effect recognized as of the date of initial application. We are currently in the process of evaluating the potential impact this new pronouncement will have on our financial statements and do not anticipate early adoption. We have not completed our evaluation and therefore cannot conclude whether the pronouncement will have a significant impact on our financial statements at this time. We expect to complete our evaluation by the end of 2017. We currently anticipate that we will utilize the modified retrospective method of adoption, however, this expectation may change following the completion of our evaluation of the impact of this pronouncement on our financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which replaces existing accounting literature relating to the classification of, and accounting for, leases. Under ASU 2016-02, a company must recognize for all leases (with the exception of leases with terms less than 12 months) a liability representing a lessee's obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, and a right-of-use asset representing the lessee's right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. Lessor accounting is largely unchanged, with certain improvements to align lessor accounting with the lessee accounting model and Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The adoption of ASU 2016-02 will be required for us beginning January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The ASU must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition, applying the new criteria to all leases existing or entered into after the beginning of the earliest comparative period in the consolidated financial statements. We are currently in the process of determining what impact the adoption of this ASU will have on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows, and we are evaluating the adoption date and transition alternatives.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which includes multiple provisions intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for share-based payments. Rent-A-Center adopted ASU 2016-09 beginning January 1, 2017. We adopted the recognition of excess tax benefits in the provision for income taxes rather than paid-in-capital, and the classification of excess tax benefits on the statement of cash flows on a prospective basis. We elected to continue to estimate forfeitures expected to occur in our determination of compensation cost recognized each period. Furthermore, we adopted the minimum statutory withholding requirements and classification of employee taxes paid on the statement of cash flows on a modified retrospective and full retrospective basis, respectively. Additional amendments included in the accounting standard update were not applicable to us. Impacts resulting from adoption were immaterial to the consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which provides guidance on the treatment of cash receipts and cash payments for certain types of cash transactions, to eliminate diversity in practice in the presentation of the cash flow statement. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 will be required for us on a retrospective basis beginning January 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted. We are currently in the process of determining the adoption date and what impact the adoption of this ASU will have on our presentation of cash flows.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which simplifies the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating the hypothetical purchase price allocation and instead using the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the reporting unit. The adoption of ASU 2017-04 will be required for us on a prospective basis beginning January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted. We are currently in the process of determining the adoption date and what impact the adoption of this ASU will have on our financial statements.

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standards setting bodies that we adopt as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, we believe the impact of any other recently issued standards that are not yet effective are either not applicable to us at this time or will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements upon adoption.