The engrossed Declaration of Independence is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
The engrossed copy is the parchment document with the familiar signatures of the delegates. It is housed in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, alongside the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The document’s custody changed over time. It was transferred from the State Department to the Library of Congress in 1921, then moved to Fort Knox for protection during World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1952, it was transferred to the National Archives.
Independence Hall in Philadelphia remains essential to the story because Congress debated and adopted the Declaration there. However, the famous signed parchment is not permanently displayed in that building. America250 connects both places through the 1776 events it commemorates.