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Label Element Value
[RiskReturnAbstract] rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Document Type dei_DocumentType 497
Document Period End Date dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate Nov. 05, 2014
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName First Trust Exchange Traded Fund III
Central Index Key dei_EntityCentralIndexKey 0001424212
Amendment Flag dei_AmendmentFlag false
Document Creation Date dei_DocumentCreationDate Nov. 12, 2014
Document Effective Date dei_DocumentEffectiveDate Nov. 05, 2014
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Nov. 05, 2014
First Trust Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF
  
[RiskReturnAbstract] rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading

SUMMARY INFORMATION
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund's investment objective is to seek maximum total return and current income.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing and selling shares may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker, which are not reflected in the table below.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance.
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

EXAMPLE
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account customary brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain at current levels until October 10, 2016, and thereafter at 1.10% to represent the imposition of the 12b-1 fee of 0.25% per annum of the Fund's average daily net assets. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in bonds, notes and bills issued or guaranteed by entities in emerging market countries (collectively, "Bonds") that are denominated in the local currency of the issuer. The Bonds will be issued or guaranteed by: (i) foreign governments (which may be local foreign governments, such as municipalities and states); (ii) instrumentalities, agencies or other political subdivisions of foreign governments; (iii) central banks, sovereign entities, supranational issuers or development agencies; or (iv) entities or enterprises organized, owned, backed or sponsored by any of the entities set forth above. The Fund's investment in Bonds may be through purchases of global depositary notes ("GDNs"), which are debt instruments created by a depositary bank that evidence ownership of a local currency-denominated debt instrument.

In implementing the Fund's investment strategy, First Trust Global Portfolios Ltd. (the "Sub-Advisor") will seek to provide current income and enhance capital, while minimizing volatility. The Sub-Advisor will continually review fundamental economic and structural themes that impact long and medium term asset returns in emerging markets. The Sub-Advisor will also consider shorter term market drivers such as valuations, liquidity conditions and sentiment to determine the appropriate positioning of the Fund's investments. The Sub-Advisor will adjust the portfolio's country allocations, duration and individual security positioning to reflect what the Sub-Advisor believes to be the most attractive opportunities on a continuous basis.

With respect to the Fund, Bonds are comprised of bonds, notes and bills issued or guaranteed by entities incorporated or domiciled in emerging market countries. The Sub-Advisor considers emerging market countries to be countries that are characterized by developing commercial and financial infrastructure with significant potential for economic growth and increased capital market participation by foreign investors. The Sub-Advisor will consider a variety of factors when determining whether a country should be considered an emerging market, including whether it is classified by the World Bank in the lower, lower-middle or upper-middle income designation for one of the past three years. As of the date of this prospectus, the Sub-Advisor considers emerging market countries to include any country other than Canada, the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. This list of emerging market countries may be expanded or exceptions may be made depending on the evolution of market and economic conditions. The Fund's exposure to any single country generally will be limited to 20% of the Fund's net assets, although this percentage may change from time to time in response to economic events. The percentage of Fund assets invested in a specific region, country or issuer will change from time to time.

The Fund may invest in Bonds of any credit quality, including unrated securities, high-yield, or "junk," bonds, and with effective or final maturities of any length. The Fund will invest only in Bonds that, at the time of purchase, are performing, and not in default or distressed; however, the Bonds in which the Fund invests may become non-performing, distressed or defaulted subsequent to purchase and the Fund may continue to hold such Bonds. Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the Fund's net assets that are invested in Bonds will be invested in Bonds that are issued by issuers with outstanding debt of at least $200 million, or the foreign currency equivalent thereof.

The Fund may invest in foreign currencies and derivative instruments, including exchange-listed futures contracts, exchange-listed options, exchange-listed options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts, non-deliverable forward currency contracts and exchange-listed currency options. The Fund will use foreign currencies and derivative instruments primarily to hedge interest rate risk and actively manage interest rate exposure and to hedge foreign currency risk and actively manage foreign currency exposure. The Fund may also use derivative instruments to enhance returns, as a substitute for, or to gain exposure to, a position in an underlying asset, to reduce transaction costs, to maintain full market exposure, to manage cash flows or to preserve capital. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments will not be used to seek to achieve a multiple or inverse multiple of an index. Under normal market conditions, no more than 20% of the value of the Fund's net assets will be invested in derivative instruments. To the extent that the Fund invests in derivative instruments (as described above) as a substitute for, or to gain exposure to, a position in an underlying asset, such investments shall be (a) counted towards the 80% test set forth above that requires the Fund to invest at least 80% of the Fund's net assets (including investment borrowings) in Bonds, and (b) valued according to their market value and not notional value.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading

PRINCIPAL RISKS
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objective will be achieved.

CALL RISK. If an issuer calls higher-yielding debt instruments held by the Fund, performance could be adversely impacted.

CASH TRANSACTIONS RISK. The Fund will, under most circumstances, effect a portion of creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an exchange-traded fund that effects its creations and redemption for in-kind securities. Because the Fund may effect a portion of redemptions for cash, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. A sale of shares may result in capital gains or losses and may also result in higher brokerage costs.

CREDIT RISK. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a security will be unable or unwilling to make dividend, interest and/or principal payments when due and the related risk that the value of a security may decline because of concerns about the issuer's ability to make such payments.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE RISK. The Fund holds investments that are denominated in non-U.S. currencies, or in securities that provide exposure to such currencies, currency exchange rates or interest rates denominated in such currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund's investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money.

CURRENCY RISK. Because the Fund's net asset value is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars and the Fund invests in non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities, you may lose money if the local currency of a foreign market depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the local currency value of the Fund's holdings goes up. The Fund may hedge certain of its non-U.S. dollar holdings.

DERIVATIVES RISK. The use of options, futures contracts, forward contracts and other derivative instruments can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives. These risks are heightened when the Fund's portfolio managers use derivatives to enhance the Fund's return or as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge (or offset) the risk of a position or security held by the Fund.

EMERGING MARKETS RISK. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Emerging market governments may, without prior warning, impose capital controls on the ability to transfer currency, securities or other assets. The Fund's ability to access certain developing or emerging markets also may be limited due to a variety of factors, including currency convertibility issues. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, cause the Fund's returns to differ from those available to domestic investors, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

GLOBAL DEPOSITARY NOTES RISK. Any distributions paid to the holders of GDNs are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary bank. Holders of GDNs may have limited rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of GDNs because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the Bonds into GDNs and vice versa.

HIGH YIELD SECURITIES RISK. High yield securities, or "junk" bonds, are subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of loss than securities with higher ratings, and therefore, are considered to be highly speculative. These securities are issued by issuers that may have narrowly focused operations and/or other impediments to the timely payment of periodic interest and principal at maturity. If the global or local economy slows down or dips into recession, the issuers of high yield securities may not have sufficient resources to continue making timely payment of periodic interest and principal at maturity. The market for high yield securities is generally smaller and less liquid than that for investment grade securities. High yield securities are generally not listed on a national securities exchange but trade in the over-the-counter markets. Due to the smaller, less liquid market for high yield securities, the bid-offer spread on such securities is generally greater than it is for investment grade securities and the purchase or sale of such securities may take longer to complete. In general, high yield securities may have a greater risk of default than other types of securities.

ILLIQUID SECURITIES RISK. Some of the securities held by the Fund may be illiquid. Illiquid securities involve the risk that the securities will not be able to be sold at the time desired by the Fund or at prices approximately the value at which the Fund is carrying the securities on its books.

INCOME RISK. Income from the Fund's fixed income investments could decline during periods of falling interest rates.

INTEREST RATE RISK. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the fixed income securities in the Fund will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term investments and higher for longer term investments.

MANAGEMENT RISK. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund's investment portfolio, the Fund's investment advisor will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security owned by the Fund or shares of the Fund in general may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in bond prices. Also, certain of these factors may affect the liquidity of the Bonds in the Fund's portfolio and make it more difficult for the Fund to sell them. Overall securities values could decline generally or could underperform other investments.

NEW FUND RISK. The Fund currently has fewer assets than larger funds, and like other relatively new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund's market exposure for limited periods of time. This impact may be positive or negative, depending on the direction of market movement during the period affected. Also, during the initial invest-up period, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest a larger amount or all of its assets in cash equivalents or it may hold cash.

NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as "non-diversified" under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). As a result, the Fund is only limited as to the percentage of its assets that may be invested in the securities of any one issuer by the diversification requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly invested in certain issuers.

NON-U.S. SECURITIES RISK. Non-U.S. securities are subject to higher volatility than securities of domestic issuers due to possible adverse political, social or economic developments; restrictions on foreign investment or exchange of securities; lack of liquidity; currency exchange rates; excessive taxation; government seizure of assets; different legal or accounting standards and less government supervision and regulation of exchanges in foreign countries.

SOVEREIGN DEBT RISK. Investments in sovereign bonds involve special risks because the governmental authority that controls the repayment of the debt may be unwilling or unable to repay the principal and/or interest when due in accordance with the terms of such securities; the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due; the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole; or the government debtor's policy towards the International Monetary Fund and the political constraints to which a government debtor may be subject. If an issuer of sovereign bonds defaults on payments of principal and/or interest, the Fund may have limited legal recourse against the issuer and/or guarantor. In certain cases, remedies must be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party itself, and the Fund's ability to obtain recourse may be limited. In times of economic uncertainty, the prices of these securities may be more volatile than those of corporate debt obligations or of other government debt obligations.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

PERFORMANCE
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund has not yet commenced operations and, therefore, does not have a performance history. Once available, the Fund's performance information, and information that gives some indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by comparing the Fund's performance with a broad measure of market performance, will be available on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
First Trust Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF | First Trust Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF
  
[RiskReturnAbstract] rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none [1]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets none [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.85%
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 $ 87
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 $ 299
[1] Although the Fund has adopted a 12b-1 plan that permits it to pay up to 0.25% per annum, it will not pay 12b-1 fees at any time before October 10, 2016.
[2] "Other Expenses" is an estimate based on the expenses the Fund expects to incur for the current fiscal year.