Are there any exceptions to the GFCI requirements in bathrooms and basements?

For a dwelling bathroom, there is no exception. Section 210.8(A)(1) requires GFCI protection for all receptacles rated 150 volts or less to ground and 50 amperes or less installed in dwelling unit bathrooms, and the section contains no relief for a dedicated circuit, a single receptacle, a hardwired appliance receptacle, or a receptacle behind a cabinet. The old habit of putting a jetted tub pump receptacle on a non GFCI circuit has not been legal for a long time, and 680.71 specifically requires GFCI protection for hydromassage bathtub circuits.

Basements: the exceptions are gone

Section 210.8(A)(5) covers basements. Through the 2011 edition, unfinished basements had exceptions for receptacles that were not readily accessible, for a single receptacle or a duplex receptacle supplying only two appliances located in dedicated space and cord and plug connected, and for a receptacle supplying a permanently installed fire alarm or burglar alarm system. Those exceptions were deleted in the 2014 cycle for the first two and the alarm exception followed.

The 2020 edition extended 210.8(A)(5) from unfinished basements to all basements, finished and unfinished. The 2023 edition kept it. So in a current code jurisdiction, every 125 through 250 volt receptacle rated 50 amperes or less anywhere in a dwelling basement requires GFCI protection, including the sump pump receptacle, the freezer receptacle, and the receptacle behind the finished family room wall.

What limited relief still exists

Section 210.8(A) has an informational exception structure that changes by edition, so read your adopted book. Two provisions worth knowing in the 2023 text: 210.8(A) does not apply to receptacles that are not readily accessible in some specific occupancies covered elsewhere, and 210.8(D) contains its own list for appliance outlets with a separate scope.

Section 210.8(B), which covers other than dwelling units, has an exception for receptacles in industrial laboratories where interruption would introduce a greater hazard, and an exception for receptacles supplying only a permanently installed fire alarm or burglar alarm system in certain areas. Those are not dwelling exceptions and cannot be borrowed for a house.

Section 210.8(A) also does not apply to a receptacle that is part of listed equipment where the equipment listing addresses it, and it does not apply to hardwired connections that involve no receptacle. That last one is why an inspector will accept a hardwired sump pump where a corded one would need GFCI, though 210.8(D) may still reach the outlet depending on the appliance type.

Nuisance tripping is not a code exception

A freezer or a sump pump that trips a GFCI is telling you something. Motor start leakage, a wet motor winding, and degraded insulation all present as nuisance trips. The correct response is to test the appliance and the circuit, not to remove the protection. If the appliance is genuinely leaking within its listing tolerance, a dedicated circuit with a fresh GFCI device and a short conductor run reduces cumulative leakage from cable capacitance.

Field takeaway

Assume no exception in a dwelling bathroom or basement. Every receptacle gets GFCI. Verify your adopted edition, because the exceptions your memory is holding onto were deleted several cycles ago.