The engrossed parchment Declaration of Independence is displayed at the National Archives, a key artifact of America250.
The National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., houses the original parchment document in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. The display places the Declaration alongside the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The engrossed copy is the formal handwritten version that delegates signed. It is different from the printed broadsides produced by John Dunlap in July 1776 and from Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft, which is held by the Library of Congress.
The National Archives uses specialized environmental controls and protective display methods because the parchment is extremely valuable and vulnerable to light and changes in temperature or humidity. Visitors can view it as part of the institution’s permanent presentation of the nation’s founding documents.