Exigent circumstance, dalam hukum prosedur kriminal AS, memungkinkan aparat hukum untuk memasuki sebuah bangunan tanpa warrant, atau bila mereka memiliki "knock and announce" warrant, tanpa mengetuk pintu dalam keadaan tertentu, yaitu ketika seseorang dalam keadaan bahaya, barang bukti akan dihancurkan, atau tersangka akan melarikan diri.

Dalam konteks prosedur kriminal, exigent circumstance berarti:
An emergency situation requiring swift action to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to property, or to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect, or destruction of evidence. There is no ready litmus test for determining whether such circumstances exist, and in each case the extraordinary situation must be measured by the facts known by officials.
People v. Ramey, 545 P.2d 1333,1341 (Cal. 1976).

Pranala luar 
 Warrantless Motor Vehicle Searches: No Exigent Circumstances Required
 Lect Law definition 

Hukum acara pidana Amerika Serikat