Delegates primarily signed the engrossed United States Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.
The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, but the formal signing of the parchment manuscript occurred later. Congress ordered the document engrossed, meaning prepared in a formal handwritten version, after approving the text. Timothy Matlack is traditionally associated with writing the surviving engrossed copy.
Fifty-six delegates eventually signed the document. John Hancock, president of Congress, signed prominently, while the names were grouped by state and arranged generally from south to north. Some delegates may have signed after August 2, so “primarily” reflects the historical evidence rather than a claim that every signature was added on one single day.
The familiar July 4 date remains the adoption anniversary because Congress approved the Declaration then. The distinction between adoption, publication, and signing explains why both July 4 and August 2 appear in accounts of the document’s history.