Your inspector is off his nut. Politely ask him for a code reference to this absurd request.

thats what i thought, but i wanted to make sure i knew what i was talking about before "challenging" him.

i called 3 diff stores and none of them carry a 20A gfi, they said to use a 15A... as thats what EVERYONE does. even the local building supplier said that he only sells one every 6 months or so

If for some reason it is the only receptacle on the curcuit, it does have to be 20 ampere. If there is more than one receptacle you can go with 15 ampere rated receptacles but they must still be on a 20 ampere curcuit.

However, "only receptacle" means a single receptacle. A normal duplex receptacle counts as two receptacles, and a single 15A duplex receptacle is kosher on a 20A circuit.

...And since GFI's do not come in single (simplex) versions this is why ONE 15A GFI device can be on a 20A circuit.

As a historical note, the first receptacle type GFCI was by SquareD. It had a single receptacle, used the conventional duplex receptacle plate. What would be the other receptacle was used for the test and reset buttons. It was $35.00 wholesale and came in brown only. I still have a new one on the shelf, in the original box. For sale for $35.00!

I actually remember that!

i spoke with a guy from our local elec supply house about the issue. he said that i am in fact NOT required to use a 20A recpt, i might be better off just spending the extra $$$ because the inspector is very well known for nit-picking and that if i challenge him he may look for other stff because he is a major pain in the a$$.

might be worth the $22 for 2 new recpt to get him off my back...

Well if more folks reported these "nit-picky" inspectors maybe they'd change their tunes and realize they are NOT God and they DO NOT make the rules. They are supposed to just ENFORCE them.

But I guess you're right. For $25 why bother.
I'd get playful and say
"Man, I looked all over the code and could not find it anywhere. Can you tell me where that is in the code so I don't make that mistake again? I don't want to look silly."
Then watch him squirm.

Leviton was perhaps the first to offer a receptacle-type GFCI in the Decora style. It was a duplex receptacle. But it was deeper than any wall boxes. Each one was packed with an extender ring that filled the space between the wall and the wall plate. Again SquareD was the first to offer a receptacle-type duplex GFCI that would fit in typical wall boxes. I do not know if SqD even makes any type receptacle now. SquareD was the first to offer a trip indicator on circuit breakers, QO. I liked their practical and industry-leading innovations.