Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	May 08, 2018
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	TELOS CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000320121
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2018
Class A Common Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		45,213,461
Class B Common Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		4,037,628