I was planning to do small recessed gimbal lights over my new bathroom vanity. My electrician mentioned that the recessed lighting alone was not code and required a wall sconce or wall mounted light over this area... He mentioned he had learned of this not too long ago, is this common or accurate? If so, I know most commercial bathrooms do not comply to this.

Thanks

The only thing I'm restricted to is lighting in and around bathtubs and showers. Fairly standard stuff.

If your sink is next to the tub, it might fall under restriction for lighting within 3" of bathtubs. But that restriction is for cord-connected lights (table lamp for example), anything that's dangling or hanging, like pendant lights, track lights, chain or cable swagged lights, etc. The idea is if you are standing in the tub and slip, they don't want anything electrical nearby that you might instinctively reach out and grab a hold of. zzzzZZZZZZAP!

There are damp and wet requirements, but again, none of those pertain to sink lighting. At least not in my locale.

"Damp" is required over the bathtub or in the shower if water spray won't hit it. "Wet" is required if water spray will hit it.

I'd call your local building department. Get some return on your local tax dollars.