Most delegates signed the engrossed United States Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.
The signing occurred at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, the building later renamed Independence Hall. The parchment was the carefully prepared formal copy of a document that Congress had adopted weeks earlier.
July 4 is the adoption date traditionally celebrated as Independence Day, while August 2 is the principal date associated with the signatures. The distinction matters because the Declaration’s wording was debated and approved before the final engrossed parchment was ready for signing.
The formal document carried 56 signatures from delegates representing the thirteen colonies. A small number of signatures were added later, but August 2 remains the date on which the main signing ceremony is understood to have occurred.