When used in a legal context, a stipulation is an agreement made between two or more people on opposite sides in a lawsuit.
Stipulations are typically made either prior to or during the trial, and help to simplify or clarify matters for the court. While they are usually written, oral stipulations are also acceptable in some cases.
Stipulations are generally classified as procedural or factual.
Procedural stipulations are the agreements made between opposing attorneys in a lawsuit or criminal case. These agreements usually pertain to legal matters that fall within the attorneys' purview, such as the length of time allowed for pleadings, depositions and so forth.
Once a factual stipulation is in effect, the subject(s) of that stipulation cannot be disputed at trial. This means that none of the parties involved in the agreement have to prove that particular set of facts. For example, if the opposing parties agree that a certain event occurred on a specific day at a specific time and place, they may make a stipulation regarding those particular facts.