Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2013	Feb. 28, 2013
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	ABM
Entity Registrant Name	ABM INDUSTRIES INC /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000771497
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		54,647,767