| **Fair Value of Financial Instruments Fair Value of Financial Instruments** | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
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| **Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]**                                       |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| Fair Value of Financial Instruments                                         | Fair Value of Financial InstrumentsIn partial consideration for the subordinated debt provided by Wynnefield Capital (referred to in Note 5), we issued warrants to purchase 53,619 shares of common stock.  As of September 30, 2016, the warrants are outstanding and their fair value was determined to be $204 thousand.  The fair value is estimated using the binomial pricing model.  The fair value is subjective and is affected by the changes in inputs to the valuation model including the fair value per share of the underlying stock, the expected term of each warrant, volatility of the Company's stock, and risk free rate based on the U.S. Treasury yield curves.Key assumptions used in the valuation of the warrants at issuance include the following:Risk free interest rate1.01%Contractual term5 yearsDividend yield—%Expected lives5 yearsExpected volatility74%Fair value per warrant$3.31The Company recorded a loss on the revaluation of the warrant liability of $27 thousand for the year ended September 30, 2016.  The loss is recorded and classified in other income (expense) in the accompanying consolidated financial statement of operations.  Given the provisions that may reduce the exercise price of these warrants in the event that other convertible securities or options have a lower price, these warrants are classified as a liability. This topic is further discussed in Note 12. Related Party Transactions.The Company measures certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis. The Company determines fair value based upon the exit price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants, as determined by either the principal market or the most advantageous market. Inputs used in the valuation techniques to derive fair values are classified based on a three level hierarchy. These levels are:Level 1 – Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for assets or liabilities. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to Level 1 inputs.Level 2 – Observable prices that are based on inputs not quoted on active markets, but corroborated by market data.Level 3 – Unobservable inputs are used when little or no market data is available. The fair value hierarchy gives the lowest priority to Level 3 inputs.Observable inputs are based on market data obtained from independent sources.The Company has issued warrants to purchase stock as described above. The fair value of the warrants was estimated by management in the absence of a readily ascertainable market value as follows: September 30, 2016 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Warrant issued to acquire common stock$— $— $204      Change in Level 3 liabilities for the year ended September 30, 2016: Beginning Balance Realized/Unrealized Purchases and Ending Balance  Change in Unrealized (gains) losses for liabilities held at October 1, 2015 (Gains) Losses Settlements September 30, 2016  September 30, 2015Warrant issued to acquire common stock$— $27 $177 $204  $27           The Company has other financial instruments, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, loan payable, notes payable, and accrued expense.  Due to the short term nature of these instruments, DLH estimates that the fair value of all financial instruments at September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015 does not differ materially from the aggregate carrying values of these financial instruments recorded in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. |

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No definition available.
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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.
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