The signed United States Declaration of Independence was presented in Philadelphia primarily on August 2, 1776.
Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, but the famous engrossed parchment copy was prepared afterward. Timothy Matlack, a congressional clerk, produced the formal handwritten document, which Congress ordered on July 19 after New York authorized its delegates to support independence.
Most delegates signed on August 2 at the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall. Some delegates were absent and signed later, so historians do not treat every signature as having been added on exactly the same day.
A common mix-up is confusing adoption with signing. July 4 marks Congress's approval of the Declaration's text, while August 2 is the generally accepted date for the main signing ceremony. The 56 signatures represented delegates from the Thirteen Colonies, although the document itself declared the colonies to be free and independent states.