| Pay vs Performance Disclosure | 12 Months Ended |
| Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance [Table Text Block] | Year (1) Summary Compensation Table Total for CEO Compensation Actually Paid to CEO Average Summary Compensation Table Total for Other NEOs Average Compensation Actually Paid to Other NEOs Value of Initial Fixed $100 Investment Based on: IDEXX Net Income ($MM) IDEXX Organic Revenue Growth IDEXX TSR Peer Group TSR 2022 $ 9,788,388 $ (13,754,140) $ 2,782,492 $ (3,411,052) $ 156.23 $ 140.29 $ 679.1 7 % 2021 $ 9,065,021 $ 28,210,038 $ 2,848,443 $ 8,009,991 $ 252.16 $ 143.09 $ 744.8 16 % 2020 $ 7,038,175 $ 34,873,879 $ 2,311,502 $ 10,522,557 $ 191.43 $ 113.45 $ 581.8 12 % | | |
| Company Selected Measure Name | organic revenue growth | | |
| Named Executive Officers, Footnote [Text Block] | For each of the years presented in the table, our CEO was Jonathan J. Mazelsky. Our other NEOs were Brian P. McKeon (2020-2022), James F. Polewaczyk (2020-2022), Michael J. Lane (2020-2022), Tina Hunt (2021-2022), and Sharon E. Underberg (2020). | | |
| Peer Group Issuers, Footnote [Text Block] | The peer group TSR set forth in the table utilizes the S&P 500 Health Care Index, which we also utilize in the stock performance graph required by Item 201(e) of Regulation S-K included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. The measurement period to calculate the S&P 500 Health Care Index TSR beings as of market close on December 31, 2019 and ends on December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, as applicable. The calculation of the S&P 500 Health Care Index TSR assumes an investment of $100 in the S&P 500 Health Care Index as of the close of trading on December 31, 2019, and assumes dividends, if any, were reinvested. | | |
| PEO Total Compensation Amount | $ 9,788,388 | $ 9,065,021 | $ 7,038,175 |
| PEO Actually Paid Compensation Amount | $ (13,754,140) | 28,210,038 | 34,873,879 |
| Adjustment To PEO Compensation, Footnote [Text Block] | The table below provides a summary of deductions and additions made from the summary compensation table (SCT) total for our CEO to calculate the “compensation actually paid” to our CEO. The amount has been calculated in accordance with Item 402(v) of Regulation S-K and the dollar amount of the “compensation actually paid” does not reflect the actual amount of compensation earned or paid to the CEO during the applicable year. There were no equity award forfeitures nor dividends or other earnings paid on stock or option awards in any of the applicable years and thus no adjustments are reflected for such events in the table below. Year 2022 2021 2020 Summary Compensation Table for CEO $ 9,788,388 $ 9,065,021 $ 7,038,175 Deductions Grant date value of Stock Awards granted during fiscal year as reported in the SCT 1,937,696 1,500,029 1,125,087 Grant Date value of Option Awards granted during fiscal year as reported in the SCT 5,812,593 4,499,229 3,375,000 Additions Fair value as of year end of outstanding and unvested equity awards granted during fiscal year 6,449,518 8,858,781 11,773,116 Change in fair value (comparing year end to the end of prior fiscal year) of equity awards granted in a prior fiscal year that are outstanding and unvested at year end (15,299,044) 13,640,628 18,767,155 Fair value of equity awards on vest date for equity awards granted and vested during fiscal year — — — Change in fair value (comparing the vesting date to the end of the prior fiscal year) of equity awards granted in a prior fiscal year that vested during the fiscal year (6,942,713) 2,644,866 1,795,521 Compensation Actually Paid to CEO $ (13,754,140) $ 28,210,038 $ 34,873,879 | | |
| Non-PEO NEO Average Total Compensation Amount | $ 2,782,492 | 2,848,443 | 2,311,502 |
| Non-PEO NEO Average Compensation Actually Paid Amount | $ (3,411,052) | 8,009,991 | 10,522,557 |
| Adjustment to Non-PEO NEO Compensation Footnote [Text Block] | The table below provides a summary of deductions and additions made from the average summary compensation table (SCT) total for our other NEOs to calculate the average “compensation actually paid” to our other NEO s. The amount has been calculated in accordance with Item 402(v) of Regulation S-K and the dollar amount of the average “compensation actually paid” does not reflect the actual average amount of compensation earned or paid to the other NEOs during the applicable year. There were no equity award forfeitures nor dividends or other earnings paid on stock or option awards in any of the applicable years and thus no adjustments are reflected for such events in the table below. Year 2022 2021 2020 Summary Compensation Table Average for other NEOs $ 2,782,492 $ 2,848,443 $ 2,311,502 Deductions Grant date value of Stock Awards granted during fiscal year as reported in the SCT 462,560 399,899 300,042 Grant Date value of Option Awards granted during fiscal year as reported in the SCT 1,387,558 1,199,793 900,003 Additions Fair value as of year end of outstanding and unvested equity awards granted during fiscal year 1,520,657 2,340,819 3,139,539 Change in fair value (comparing year end to the end of prior fiscal year) of equity awards granted in a prior fiscal year that are outstanding and unvested at year end (3,973,866) 3,751,718 5,913,551 Fair value of equity awards on vest date for equity awards granted and vested during fiscal year — — — Change in fair value (comparing the vesting date to the end of the prior fiscal year) of equity awards granted in a prior fiscal year that vested during the fiscal year (1,890,216) 668,703 358,010 Average Compensation Actually Paid to Other NEOs $ (3,411,052) $ 8,009,991 $ 10,522,557 | | |
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Total Shareholder Return [Text Block] | Compensation Actually Paid Versus TSR | | |
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Net Income [Text Block] | Compensation Actually Paid Versus Net Income | | |
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Company Selected Measure [Text Block] | Compensation Actually Paid Versus Organic Revenue Growth | | |
| Total Shareholder Return Vs Peer Group [Text Block] | Compensation Actually Paid Versus TSR | | |
| Tabular List [Table Text Block] | Financial Performance Measures (1) Organic revenue growth Operating profit Earnings per share (diluted) ROIC | | |
| Total Shareholder Return Amount | $ 156.23 | 252.16 | 191.43 |
| Peer Group Total Shareholder Return Amount | 140.29 | 143.09 | 113.45 |
| Net Income (Loss) | $ 679,100,000 | $ 744,800,000 | $ 581,800,000 |
| Company Selected Measure Amount | 0.07 | 0.16 | 0.12 |
| PEO Name | Jonathan J. Mazelsky | | |
| Additional 402(v) Disclosure [Text Block] | Pursuant to Section 953(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Item 402(v) of Regulation S-K, we are required to provide annual disclosure of certain information to describe the relationship between “compensation actually paid” to our CEO and other NEOs and our financial performance. For further information regarding our compensation philosophy and how executive compensation aligns with performance, refer to the discussion under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” beginning on page 53 53 Relationship Between Compensation Actually Paid and Certain Measures The following graphs describe the relationship between the annual total compensation actually paid to our CEO, the average annual total compensation actually paid to our other NEOs, the total shareholder return of our stock, the total shareholder return of the S&P 500 Health Care Index, our net income and our organic revenue growth rate, as each is disclosed in the pay versus performance table above. 64 | | |
| Measure [Axis]: 1 | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Measure Name | Organic revenue growth | | |
| Non-GAAP Measure Description [Text Block] | For a discussion of how organic revenue growth was used by IDEXX to link “compensation actually paid” to our NEOs in 2022 to our financial performance, refer to the discussion under “Financial Performance Factor” beginning on page 64 | | |
| Measure [Axis]: 2 | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Measure Name | Earnings per share (diluted) | | |
| Measure [Axis]: 3 | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Measure Name | Operating profit | | |
| Measure [Axis]: 4 | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Measure Name | ROIC | | |
| PEO [Member] | Equity Awards, Stock Awards Reported Value [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | $ 1,937,696 | $ 1,500,029 | $ 1,125,087 |
| PEO [Member] | Equity Awards, Option Awards Reported Value [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 5,812,593 | 4,499,229 | 3,375,000 |
| PEO [Member] | Equity Awards Granted During the Year, Unvested [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 6,449,518 | 8,858,781 | 11,773,116 |
| PEO [Member] | Equity Awards Granted in Prior Years, Unvested [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | (15,299,044) | 13,640,628 | 18,767,155 |
| PEO [Member] | Equity Awards Granted During the Year, Vested [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PEO [Member] | Equity Awards Granted in Prior Years, Vested [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | (6,942,713) | 2,644,866 | 1,795,521 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Equity Awards, Stock Awards Reported Value [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 462,560 | 399,899 | 300,042 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Equity Awards, Option Awards Reported Value [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 1,387,558 | 1,199,793 | 900,003 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Equity Awards Granted During the Year, Unvested [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 1,520,657 | 2,340,819 | 3,139,539 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Equity Awards Granted in Prior Years, Unvested [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | (3,973,866) | 3,751,718 | 5,913,551 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Equity Awards Granted During the Year, Vested [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Equity Awards Granted in Prior Years, Vested [Member] | | | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | | | |
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | $ (1,890,216) | $ 668,703 | $ 358,010 |
