In which Washington, D.C., building is the engrossed Declaration of Independence displayed?

The engrossed Declaration of Independence is displayed in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.

The engrossed copy is the formal parchment version that carries the delegates’ signatures. It is preserved and exhibited with other foundational records, including the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Together, these documents are often called the Charters of Freedom.

The Declaration’s first public printing appeared in newspapers in July 1776, while the signed parchment was produced for the formal record. The document’s current display location is therefore different from its adoption site, Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The National Archives Building opened in 1935 and is located on Constitution Avenue. Its Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom provides a public setting for the country’s most important founding documents. The Library of Congress also holds many significant early American papers, but it is not the regular display location of the engrossed Declaration.