This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Portfolio 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 portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 145% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

145.00%

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 shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Ivy VIP Small Cap Core seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various types of equity securities of small-capitalization companies that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes have the greatest potential for capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net assets will be invested, at the time of purchase, in common stocks of small-capitalization companies. For purposes of this Portfolio, small-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations similar to those of issuers included in the Russell 2000 Index over the last 13 months at the time of acquisition. As of June 30, 2020 (the quarter-end closest to the index’s rebalance), this range of market capitalizations was between approximately $47.94 million and $5.94 billion.

The Portfolio seeks to invest in small-capitalization companies that IICO believes are undervalued relative to their potential for capital appreciation. In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO has the flexibility to invest in growth or value companies, or both, and primarily utilizes fundamental, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) research while considering top-down (assessing the market and economic environment) and quantitative analyses. In assessing investment opportunities, IICO seeks stocks that it believes exhibit relative strength and positive identifiable catalysts, while striving to avoid stocks with low liquidity. IICO seeks companies that are showing stable or positively trending fundamentals and that possess one or more of the following attributes: improving or consistently strong reported metrics

(favorable margins), capital discipline (favorable return on invested capital), a sustainable competitive advantage, seasoned management with appropriate incentives and a stable capital structure. In addition, IICO attempts to diversify the Portfolio’s holdings among sectors, as well as among growth and value companies, in an effort to manage risk and to limit excess volatility. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60).

IICO typically will sell a stock when, in IICO’s opinion, it reaches an acceptable price relative to its estimated potential value, its fundamental factors have changed or IICO has changed its estimated value due to business performance that is below IICO’s expectations. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

■	Catalyst Risk. Investing in companies in anticipation of a catalyst carries the risk that certain of such catalysts may not happen or the market may react differently than expected to such catalysts, in which case the Portfolio may experience losses.

■	Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.

■	Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.

■

Holdings Risk.

The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s NAV than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.

■

Information Technology Sector Risk.

Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation.

■

Liquidity Risk.

Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Securities that have relatively less liquidity may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Such securities may be more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid, or relatively less liquid, securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that generally were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become relatively less liquid, or even deemed illiquid, sometimes abruptly.

■	Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO's skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.

■

Market Risk.

Markets can be volatile, and stock prices change daily, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. As a result, the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices. During a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that specific investments held by the Portfolio will rise in value. At times, the Portfolio may hold a relatively high percentage of its assets in stocks of a particular market sector, which would subject the Portfolio to proportionately higher exposure to the risks of that sector. Additionally, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, meaning that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, regional or global instability and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

■

Portfolio Turnover Risk.

Frequent buying and selling of investments involve higher costs to the Portfolio and may affect the Portfolio’s performance over time. Factors that can lead to short-term trading include market volatility, a significant positive or negative development concerning a security, an attempt to maintain the Portfolio’s market capitalization target, and the need to sell a security to meet redemption activity.

■

Small Company Risk.

Securities of small-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small-capitalization companies at the desired time.

■

Value Stock Risk.

Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value; such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Morningstar peer group (comprised of a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term accumulation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital appreciation. Effective April 28, 2017, the Portfolio changed its name and strategy to reflect a greater emphasis on core style companies. Performance prior to April 28, 2017 reflects the Portfolio’s former strategy and may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy had been in place.

The Portfolio’s

past

performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call (888) 923-3355 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

(888) 923-3355

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads

The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 26.96% (the fourth quarter of 2020) and the lowest quarterly return was -29.04% (the first quarter of 2020).

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2020

Ivy VIP Small Cap Core | Class II

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.85%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees