Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011	Oct. 26, 2011 Common Class A [Member]	Oct. 26, 2011 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	BIO RAD LABORATORIES INC
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000012208
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		22,966,102	5,155,347
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3

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