Short answer. Yes. Section 14 lets parties bypass the usual formalities by written stipulation, allowing a deposition to be taken before any person authorized to administer oaths — such as a notary public — at any time and place they agree on, and it can then be used exactly like any other deposition.
What the law says
If the parties so stipulate in writing, depositions may be taken before any person authorized to administer oaths, at any time or place, in accordance with these Rules, and when so taken may be used like other depositions.
Rule 23, Section 14 — Stipulations regarding taking of depositions. Read the full provision →
What the stipulation replaces
Ordinarily, taking a deposition means giving formal written notice specifying the officer before whom it will be taken, the time, and the place, and following the sequence of steps the Rule otherwise lays out for scheduling and conducting the examination. A written stipulation lets both sides skip that machinery entirely by simply agreeing between themselves on when, where, and before whom the deposition will happen, without needing to satisfy the Rule's default notice requirements first.
Who may serve as officer under a stipulation
The stipulation opens the pool of eligible officers wider than the Rule's default categories: any person authorized to administer oaths qualifies, which in practice can include a notary public who might not otherwise be a designated deposition officer under the ordinary rules. The stipulation is a matter of convenience over form, not a waiver of the substantive fitness of the officer to preside over the examination and administer the oath to the witness.
The deposition still has full standing as evidence
Nothing about taking the deposition informally by agreement diminishes its evidentiary weight. The section says it 'may be used like other depositions,' meaning it is subject to the same rules on admissibility and use as a deposition taken through the ordinary notice procedure. Parties often use this route simply to save time and cost while preserving a deposition's full legal effect.
When parties typically use this shortcut
Parties tend to reach for this route when both sides already agree there is little to fight about procedurally, and simply want to schedule the deposition around counsel's calendars or a witness's travel without waiting on the Rule's default notice machinery. It is especially convenient when a witness is based somewhere far from where the case is pending, since the parties can agree on any notary or other qualified officer near that witness rather than arranging for a designated officer to travel. The stipulation binds only the parties who actually signed it; it cannot be invoked unilaterally by one side to compel the other into an informal deposition process the other side never agreed to, since the entire mechanism depends on mutual written consent rather than a court order.
Related provisions
- Rule 23, Section 14 — Stipulations regarding taking of depositions
- Rule 23, Section 15 — Deposition upon oral examination; notice; time and place