diff --git a/CHANGES/v2.6.md b/CHANGES/v2.6.md
index efbaa9f70e..54d3e074e3 100644
--- a/CHANGES/v2.6.md
+++ b/CHANGES/v2.6.md
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ For users:
 - Updated patches:
   - added gromacs 2020.4 (experimental: it does not yet support modular simulator) 
 
-## Version 2.6.3
+## Version 2.6.3 (Apr 16, 2021)
 
 For users:
 - Includes all fixes up to 2.5.7
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index eb7db107ee..2223355dbd 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -5,4 +5,4 @@
 # (this is same as gromacs)
 # Notice that "plumed info --version" will return only 2.X
 # and "plumed info --long-version" will return the full string
-2.6.2
+2.6.3