The engrossed United States Declaration of Independence is displayed at the National Archives, where visitors can see the document central to America250.
An engrossed document is a carefully handwritten official copy. The surviving parchment version was prepared after Congress ordered the text engrossed on July 19, 1776. Timothy Matlack is traditionally credited as the scribe who wrote the copy in the large, formal script associated with the Declaration.
The parchment is often called the official signed copy because it carries the delegates’ signatures. It differs from the Dunlap broadsides, which were printed copies produced for rapid distribution in July 1776. The National Archives preserves and displays the engrossed document in Washington, D.C., alongside other foundational records.
Independence Hall in Philadelphia remains central to the Declaration’s history because Congress adopted the document there. The Library of Congress holds important related materials, including drafts and printed copies, but the famous signed parchment is associated with the National Archives.