Most delegates are believed to have signed the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.
Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, but the formal engrossed parchment copy was prepared afterward. Most historians conclude that the principal signing took place on August 2 at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now known as Independence Hall.
The date is often confused with July 4 because the document itself is dated July 4 and later accounts by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin associated the signing with that day. Some delegates were absent on July 4, and several were elected or arrived later.
The completed document carries 56 signatures. The signing therefore represents a process extending beyond the day Congress approved the Declaration’s text and made it public.