diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index de40921bf..4cbe804d0 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-Synapse 1.56.0rc1 (2022-03-29)
-==============================
+Synapse 1.56.0 (2022-04-05)
+===========================
 
 Synapse will now refuse to start up if open registration is enabled, in order to help mitigate
 abuse across the federation. If you would like
@@ -17,6 +17,16 @@ the config flag `allow_unsafe_locale`, found in the database section of the conf
 [upgrade notes](https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/v1.56/upgrade#change-in-behaviour-for-postgresql-databases-with-unsafe-locale)
 for details.
 
+Internal Changes
+----------------
+
+- Bump the version of `black` for compatibility with the latest `click` release. ([\#12320](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/12320))
+- Refuse to start if registration is enabled without email, captcha, or token-based verification unless the new config flag `enable_registration_without_verification` is set to `true`. ([\#12322](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/12322))
+
+
+Synapse 1.56.0rc1 (2022-03-29)
+==============================
+
 Features
 --------
 
@@ -6457,4 +6467,4 @@ Internal Changes
 - Don't run CI build checks until sample config check has passed. ([\#5370](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/5370))
 - Automatically retry buildkite builds (max twice) when an agent is lost. ([\#5380](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/5380))
 
-**Changelogs for versions older than 1.0.0 can be found [here](CHANGES-pre-1.0.md).**
\ No newline at end of file
+**Changelogs for versions older than 1.0.0 can be found [here](CHANGES-pre-1.0.md).**
diff --git a/changelog.d/12320.misc b/changelog.d/12320.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 7b4748d23..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/12320.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Bump the version of `black` for compatibility with the latest `click` release.
diff --git a/changelog.d/12322.misc b/changelog.d/12322.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index fd595df81..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/12322.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Refuse to start if registration is enabled without email, captcha, or token-based verification unless new config flag `enable_registration_without_verification` is set to `true`.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index d04954457..903d98af0 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+matrix-synapse-py3 (1.56.0) stable; urgency=medium
+
+  * New synapse release 1.56.0.
+
+ -- Synapse Packaging team <packages@matrix.org>  Tue, 05 Apr 2022 12:38:39 +0100
+
 matrix-synapse-py3 (1.56.0~rc1) stable; urgency=medium
 
   * New synapse release 1.56.0~rc1.
diff --git a/synapse/__init__.py b/synapse/__init__.py
index 0960305d7..2e6510537 100644
--- a/synapse/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/__init__.py
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     pass
 
-__version__ = "1.56.0rc1"
+__version__ = "1.56.0"
 
 if bool(os.environ.get("SYNAPSE_TEST_PATCH_LOG_CONTEXTS", False)):
     # We import here so that we don't have to install a bunch of deps when