On what date did the principal signing of the Declaration of Independence occur?

The principal signing of the Declaration of Independence occurred on August 2, 1776.

Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, but the famous engrossed parchment copy was signed primarily several weeks later. Most historians identify August 2 as the main signing date, while acknowledging that some delegates signed at other times.

The distinction exists because the Declaration is dated July 4 and several participants later remembered a July 4 signing. Evidence from congressional records and the arrival dates of individual delegates indicates that not all signers could have been present on that day. Some delegates had not yet joined Congress or were away from Philadelphia.

The date of signing did not determine when independence was declared. Congress’s adoption of the document and its earlier vote for independence were the decisive political acts. August 2 instead marks the principal signing of the surviving parchment copy.