No, you don't have to, but it makes for a nicer job. The wax ring must provide the complete seal to the sewer and must not leak at all. The use of caulking under the outer edge provides for a neat seal so that water or waste that gets on the floor does not collect under the edge of the toilet where it meets the floor. The caulking can also provide a bit of stability if the floor is uneven and the flange is a bit high, in which case the toilet might rock a little - which could compromise the seal of the wax ring. If a plumber installs a toilet, they will put the caulking down right away because they are confident in their installation of the wax ring and they need to move on. If the floor is a soft material (anything except stone or ceramic tile), then the home meowner might want to wait a couple of days before applying caulking to be certain that they don't conceal a leaking wax ring. If your toiled does rock a little, give the caulking a day to dry before using it again. On the other hand, if you do have a hard surface floor, it's a good idea to apply the caulk to the bottom of the toilet before you put the bowl down to give a bit of cushion where the porcelain bowl meets the hard floor.
This is not an easy one as it could be a lot of different thing causing this problem. The easiest one first, check to see if the bolts holding the toilet to the closet collar are tight they may be under the two half round covers on either side of the toilet bowl. If they are not tight you can try tightening them be real careful not to break the bowl flanges. If that doesn't fix the problem you will need to take up the toilet and see if the toilet flange is in good shape and that the floor has not rotted out or that the bolts have not pulled loose from the closet flange.
As you can see this could get into a lot of work.
Good Luck.
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