Number of Bio-Rad guaranteed international lines of credit

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Sum of the carrying values as of the balance sheet date of all debt, including all short-term borrowings, long-term debt, and capital lease obligations.

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Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

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Effective interest rate for the funds borrowed under the debt agreement considering interest compounding and original issue discount or premium.

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Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

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The amount of debt discount that was originally recognized at the issuance of the instrument that has yet to be amortized.

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The cash outflow from the repayment of long-term borrowing where a lender is placed in a lien position behind debt having a higher priority of repayment (senior) in case of liquidation of the entity's assets before its maturity.

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Difference between the fair value of payments made and the carrying amount of debt which is extinguished prior to maturity.

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The carrying value as of the balance sheet date of the current and noncurrent portions of long-term obligations drawn from a line of credit, which is a bank's commitment to make loans up to a specific amount. Examples of items that might be included in the application of this element may consist of letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and revolving credit arrangements, under which borrowings can be made up to a maximum amount as of any point in time conditional on satisfaction of specified terms before, as of and after the date of drawdowns on the line. Includes short-term obligations that would normally be classified as current liabilities but for which (a) postbalance sheet date issuance of a long term obligation to refinance the short term obligation on a long term basis, or (b) the enterprise has entered into a financing agreement that clearly permits the enterprise to refinance the short-term obligation on a long term basis and the following conditions are met (1) the agreement does not expire within 1 year and is not cancelable by the lender except for violation of an objectively determinable provision, (2) no violation exists at the BS date, and (3) the lender has entered into the financing agreement is expected to be financially capable of honoring the agreement.

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- Definition

The effective interest rate at the end of the reporting period.

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Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

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Amount of borrowing capacity currently available under the credit facility (current borrowing capacity less the amount of borrowings outstanding).

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Carrying amount of long-term debt, net of unamortized discount or premium, including current and noncurrent amounts. Includes, but not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans and commercial paper. Excludes capital lease obligations.

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Amount of long-term debt and capital lease obligation due after one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Amount of long-term debt and capital lease obligations including current maturities.

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Amount of long-term debt and capital lease obligation maturing in the remainder of the fiscal year following the latest fiscal year ended.

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Amount of long-term debt payable, sinking fund requirements, and other securities issued that are redeemable by holder at fixed or determinable prices and dates maturing after the fifth fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date.

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Amount of long-term debt payable, sinking fund requirements, and other securities issued that are redeemable by holder at fixed or determinable prices and dates maturing in the next fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date.

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Amount of long-term debt payable, sinking fund requirements, and other securities issued that are redeemable by holder at fixed or determinable prices and dates maturing in the fifth fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date.

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Amount of long-term debt payable, sinking fund requirements, and other securities issued that are redeemable by holder at fixed or determinable prices and dates maturing in the fourth fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date.

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Amount of long-term debt payable, sinking fund requirements, and other securities issued that are redeemable by holder at fixed or determinable prices and dates maturing in the third fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date.

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Amount of long-term debt payable, sinking fund requirements, and other securities issued that are redeemable by holder at fixed or determinable prices and dates maturing in the second fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date.

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The excess of the (1) fair value of consideration transferred to the holders of a security in excess of (2) the carrying amount of the security reported on the registrant's balance sheet, which will be deducted from net earnings to derive net earnings available to common shareholders. This amount is generally an adjustment considered in the computation of earnings per share.

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The remaining balance of debt issuance expenses that were capitalized and are being amortized against income over the lives of the respective bond issues. This does not include the amounts capitalized as part of the cost of the utility plant or asset.

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5. Notes Payable and Long-Term Debt (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
5. Notes Payable and Long-Term Debt (Details) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	May 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2010
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations			$ 436,000,000us-gaap_DebtAndCapitalLeaseObligations	$ 435,800,000us-gaap_DebtAndCapitalLeaseObligations
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Maturities, Repayments of Principal Remainder of Fiscal Year			300,000	200,000
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations			435,710,000	435,615,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage					8.00%
Early repayment of Subordinated Notes	312,000,000
Redemption Premium	12,000,000us-gaap_RedemptionPremium
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount	2,500,000	2,500,000
Unamortized Debt Issuance Expense	1,100,000us-gaap_UnamortizedDebtIssuanceExpense	1,100,000us-gaap_UnamortizedDebtIssuanceExpense
Gains (Losses) on Extinguishment of Debt		(15,600,000)		(15,600,000)
Maturities of Long-term Debt [Abstract]
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Next Twelve Months			300,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Two			300,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Three			300,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Four			300,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Five			200,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal after Year Five			436,200,000
Number of Bio-Rad guaranteed international lines of credit			23	eight
Foreign Line of Credit [Member]
Maturities of Long-term Debt [Abstract]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity			40,900,000	20,100,000
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity			38,300,000	15,800,000
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End			1.40%	3.00%
Subordinated Debt [Member] \| Senior Subordinated Notes 8.0% [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt					294,800,000
Face amount of debt sold					300,000,000
Unsecured Debt [Member] \| Senior Notes 4.875% [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt			423,500,000	423,200,000		422,600,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage						4.946%
Face amount of debt sold						425,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage						4.875%
Capital Lease Obligations [Member] \| Capital leases and other debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Including Current Maturities			12,500,000	12,600,000
Line of Credit [Member]
Maturities of Long-term Debt [Abstract]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity			200,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding			0
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End			1.50%
Standby Letters of Credit [Member]
Maturities of Long-term Debt [Abstract]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity			$ 5,000,000