Preneed Activities Investment Related Activities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Preneed Activities [Abstract]
Deposits to trust	$ 321,232	$ 393,523	$ 371,234
Withdrawals	350,379	432,822	415,283
Purchases of available-for-sale securities	1,462,900	1,540,093	2,057,348
Sales of available-for-sale securities	1,393,728	1,564,968	1,999,918
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	100,284	305,595	256,413
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	$ (113,806)	$ (77,996)	$ (76,963)

Amounts deposited to trust during the period.

No definition available.

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Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Preneed Activities.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Amounts withdrawn from trust during the period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	sci_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This item represents the gross profit realized on the sale of debt or equity securities categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesGrossRealizedGains
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This item represents the gross loss realized on the sale of debt or equity securities categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The cash outflow to acquire debt and equity securities not classified as either held-to-maturity securities or trading securities which would be classified as available-for-sale securities and reported at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses excluded from earnings and reported in a separate component of shareholders' equity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 11
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109979856&loc=d3e26853-111562

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph (a),(b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3213-108585

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The cash inflow associated with the sale of debt and equity securities classified as available-for-sale securities.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 11
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109979856&loc=d3e26853-111562

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 12
-Subparagraph (a),(b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3179-108585

+ Details

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Period Type:	duration