Exoneration refers to a court order that discharges a person from liability. In criminal context the term exonerate refers to a state where a person convicted of a crime is later proved to be innocent. Exoneration may lead to controversies when the person exonerated was convicted for death penalty. The term exoneration is also referred in the context of surety bail bonds. In this case, a judge may order a bond exonerated, in such cases the clerk of the court time, stamps the original bail bond power and indicates exonerated as the judicial order.

The following is an example of state statute (Idaho) defining “exoneration”:

Pursuant to Idaho Code § 19-2905 "Exoneration" means a court order directing the full or partial release and discharge from liability of the surety underwriting a bail bond or the person posting a cash deposit or a property bond.