We prove that there is no polynomial p(.) with the property that a matroid M can be determined to be either a lifted-graphic or frame matroid using at most p(vertical bar M vertical bar) rank evaluations. This resolves two conjectures of Geelen, Gerards, and Whittle (Quasi-graphic matroids, to appear in J. Graph Theory). (C) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J.