Capacitation is the penultimate step in the maturation of mammalian spermatozoa and is required to render them competent to fertilize an oocyte. This step is a biochemical event; the sperm move normally and look mature prior to capacitation. this step typically occurs after ejaculation, in the female reproductive tract. , capacitation can occur by incubating sperms that have either undergone ejaculation or have been extracted from the epididymis in a defined medium for several hours.