No, you must complete a vSphere 7 course to achieve certification if you do not already hold a current VCP certification. If you have taken a vSphere V6.7 course, you may take the VMware vSphere: What's New [V6.7 to V7]  or VMware vSphere: What's New [V6.7 to V7] – On Demand  course and it will qualify.

Data Center Virtualization solutions are frequently updated.  Having a year as its certification version allows VMware to better maintain the exam and training content, and more importantly, provides certification candidates to communicate how current their skills are in relation to other certifications.

No, however we strongly recommend that you do so. Also, please note that successfully registering to take an exam does not imply that you meet the certification requirements in full.

When you’ve earned a VMware badge, you will receive an email notification alerting you to claim your badge. When you accept your badge, you’ll be brought immediately into a sharing workflow that allows you to share to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, embed in a personal website, or share over email.

• A single source that combines your credentials and provides a complete overview of your skills.
• Digital badges allow for you to easily share your accomplishments in social media.
• Provides employers with easy, valid verification of your VMware credentials.

If you have taken one of the qualifying V7 courses and passed the older 2V0-621 or 2V0-622 exam you will be required to pass the latest Professional VMware vSphere 7.x (2V0-21.20)  exam to earn the VCP-DCV 2023 certification you are pursuing.

If you have completed 2V0-622 VCP6.5-DCV exam, then you are required to pass the Professional VMware vSphere 7.x (2V0-21.20)  exam and complete a V7 course to achieve the VCP-DCV 2023 certification, but you are not required to pass the vSphere Foundations exam.

No, only if you have taken a vSphere V6.7 course, you may take the VMware vSphere: What's New [V6.7 to V7]   or VMware vSphere: What's New [V6.7 to V7] – On Demand  course to fulfill the training requirement towards VCP-DCV 2023 certification.