Document And Entity Information (USD $) In Billions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Feb. 17, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	vrsn
Entity Registrant Name	VERISIGN INC/CA
Entity Central Index Key	0001014473
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		159,518,978
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 4.2
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes