Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016	Feb. 03, 2017
Document And Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	CEL SCI CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000725363
Document Type	10-Q/A
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	In October 2008, the Company entered into an agreement whereby the Company leased a building owned by a third party. The Company accounted for the arrangement as an operating lease under ASC 840, Accounting for Leases. In November 2017, the Company determined that the lease should have been treated as a financing obligation rather than an operating lease. Accordingly, this amended 10-Q is filed to correct the manner in which the Company accounted for the lease. See Note I. Restatement, to the accompanying financial statements, for further information. In addition, per share data, including earnings per share amounts, in this amended 10-Q have been adjusted to reflect a 1 for 25 reverse stock split which became effective on the NYSE American on June 15, 2017. As a result of the error described above, management has concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and its disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of the end of this reporting period. The effects of the material weaknesses are discussed in more detail in Item 4, Controls and Procedures.
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-30
Is Entity a Well-known Seasoned Issuer?	No
Is Entity a Voluntary Filer?	No
Is Entity's Reporting Status Current?	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		7,638,618
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017

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