Accounting Policies, by Policy (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 29, 2012
Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]	The condensed consolidated financial statements of ENGlobal Corporation (which may be referred to as "ENGlobal”, "the Company," "we," "us," or "our") are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The Company consolidates all of its subsidiaries' financial results, and significant inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidation. The condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company included herein are unaudited for the three and nine-month periods ended September 29, 2012 and September 30, 2011, have been prepared from the books and records of the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in the case of the condensed balance sheet as of December 31, 2011, have been derived from the audited financial statements of the Company. These financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments), which are, in the opinion of management, necessary to fairly present the results for the periods presented. Certain information and note disclosures, normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, have been condensed or omitted pursuant to rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011, included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company has assessed subsequent events through the date of filing of these condensed consolidated financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission and believes that the disclosures made herein are adequate to make the information presented herein not misleading. Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2011 condensed consolidated financial statements to conform the presentation to report discontinued operations. Refer to Note 3. On January 1, 2012, we changed from a traditional month-end calendar close cycle to a 4-4-5 calendar close methodology. Under this new methodology, each quarter (formerly comprised of 3 calendar months) is comprised of 13 weeks, which includes two 4-week months and one 5-week month. This change in accounting periods has not had a material effect on the comparability to prior periods.

Accounting Policies, by Policy (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 29, 2012

Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

The condensed consolidated financial statements of ENGlobal Corporation (which may be referred to as "ENGlobal”, "the Company," "we," "us," or "our") are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The Company consolidates all of its subsidiaries' financial results, and significant inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidation.

The condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company included herein are unaudited for the three and nine-month periods ended September 29, 2012 and September 30, 2011, have been prepared from the books and records of the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in the case of the condensed balance sheet as of December 31, 2011, have been derived from the audited financial statements of the Company. These financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments), which are, in the opinion of management, necessary to fairly present the results for the periods presented. Certain information and note disclosures, normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, have been condensed or omitted pursuant to rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011, included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company has assessed subsequent events through the date of filing of these condensed consolidated financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission and believes that the disclosures made herein are adequate to make the information presented herein not misleading. Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2011 condensed consolidated financial statements to conform the presentation to report discontinued operations. Refer to Note 3.

On January 1, 2012, we changed from a traditional month-end calendar close cycle to a 4-4-5 calendar close methodology. Under this new methodology, each quarter (formerly comprised of 3 calendar months) is comprised of 13 weeks, which includes two 4-week months and one 5-week month. This change in accounting periods has not had a material effect on the comparability to prior periods.