Anhonor system,trust system orhonesty system is a way of running a variety of endeavors based ontrust,honor, andhonesty.

The honor system is also a system granting freedom from customary surveillance (as to students or prisoners) with the understanding that those who are so freed will be bound by theirhonor to observe regulations (e.g. prison farms may be operated under the honor system),^[1] and will therefore not abuse the trust placed in them.

The first honor system in America was created at theCollege of William & Mary in 1779.^[2] In some colleges, the honor system is used to administer tests unsupervised. Students are generally asked to sign anhonor code statement that says they will not cheat or use unauthorized resources when taking tests. As an example, atVanderbilt University students taking examinations are required to sign and include the following pledge: “I pledge on my honor that have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this examination”. Any student caught in violation of the Honor Code is referred to the Honor Council which investigates and determines the appropriate action, which can range from failing the course to expulsion from the university.^[3]

At theUniversity of Virginia a student taking an examination is also required to sign a pledge not to give or receive aid and there is one penalty for transgression of the honor code, dismissal from the university.^[4] Texas A&M also has an Honor System which states, Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do.^[5] Any student that does not follow the code is remanded to the Honor council so they can determine the severity of the case and how the student should be punished or if expulsion is necessary.^[6] The students at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also maintain a student-run honor system. Students maintain the integrity of the university by pledging not to cheat, steal or lie. Unlike the University of Virginia, the honor system at Chapel Hill allows for different sanctions, ranging from probation to expulsion. A single-sanction Honor Code exists at theVirginia Military Institute, where a "drum out" ceremony is still carried out upon a cadet's dismissal.^[7]

Some private universities are run by or associated withreligious organizations and their honor code reflect that association. AtBrigham Young University students commit to theChurch Educational System Honor Code which unlike other honor codes has restrictions placed on how students should engage in sexual and romantic relationships and that students and employees should attend religious services.^[8]

Somesupermarket chains allow customers to scan their own groceries with handheldbarcode readers while placing them in their own carts (seeself-checkout). Customers can be randomly audited. While the system gives customers the ability to place groceries in their bags without paying, participating supermarkets have reported that this experimental system has not increased the amount ofshoplifting.^[9]

In some countries, farmers leave bags of produce beside the road outside their houses with prices affixed. Passers-by pay by leaving cash in a container. InIreland,New Zealand,Australia and theUnited Kingdom this is called thehonesty box system. In other countries, small unmanned stores are run, where customers are able to enter, obtain what they need, and pay the bill in a secure container.^[10]

During theCOVID-19 pandemic, as many people have received theirvaccines, theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance that fully-vaccinated people no longer had to wearface masks. Many places relied on an honor system to trust that people who were not vaccinated continued to wear face masks.^[11]

Various public transport systems are ungated and operate on an enforced honour system. Random inspections are made but there is no systematic means of ensuring that everyone has paid. If aRevenue protection inspector finds a person indeed lacks the proper ticket, the passenger gets aPenalty fare.^[12]

• Hawala or hundi, aninformal value transfer system based on an honor system
• Kavka's toxin puzzle examines the paradoxical nature of "rewarding intent."
• Reputation system

• Bowman, James.Honor: A History. Encounter, 2007.
• Wyatt-Brown, Bertram.Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South. OUP, 2007.