Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2013	May 30, 2013
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 30, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
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		54,737,547