Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	JOHN HANCOCK TAX-EXEMPT SERIES FUND
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Oct. 01, 2012
Document Creation Date	dei_DocumentCreationDate	Sep. 26, 2012

The exact name of the entity filing the report as specified in its charter, which is required by forms filed with the SEC.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation 12B

-Number 240

-Section 12b

-Subsection 1

Name:	dei_EntityRegistrantName
Namespace Prefix:	dei_
Data Type:	xbrli:normalizedStringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration