A judgment is the final determination of an action. It is an act of the Court. Judges make judgments. The ministerial notation comes from the requirements of V.R.Civ. The determination of when an order is final is discretionary in nature, although there are no legal bright lines which assist the discretion.
Certification is a ministerial act.
People ex rel. The statute does not explicitly tell us, but rather, the nature of a certificate does. A certificate should substantially apprise a person to whom it is delivered of the facts sought to be brought to their notice, and upon which the person is to act. If a judgment or lien is to be recorded by a Town Clerk, the Town Clerk must be apprised of the prima facie validity of the judgment or order so it may be recorded. Without such a procedure an unscrupulous person could file bogus orders and judgments in the land records.