diff --git a/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/CategorizationFragment.java b/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/CategorizationFragment.java
index d8f5cef48..ca8300172 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/CategorizationFragment.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/CategorizationFragment.java
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Date;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
@@ -217,11 +218,11 @@ public class CategorizationFragment extends Fragment {
         Log.d(TAG, "Adding title items: " + titleItems);
         mergedItems.addAll(recentItems);
         Log.d(TAG, "Adding recent items: " + recentItems);
-
+        
         //Needs to be an ArrayList and not a List unless we want to modify a big portion of preexisting code
         ArrayList<String> mergedItemsList = new ArrayList<String>(mergedItems);
-        Log.d(TAG, "Merged item list: " + mergedItemsList);
 
+        Log.d(TAG, "Merged item list: " + mergedItemsList);
         return mergedItemsList;
     }
 
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/MethodAUpdater.java b/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/MethodAUpdater.java
index 5ac3f3bf2..32f8660bf 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/MethodAUpdater.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/MethodAUpdater.java
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ import org.mediawiki.api.MWApi;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Calendar;
+import java.util.Iterator;
 
 import fr.free.nrw.commons.CommonsApplication;
 
@@ -38,16 +40,59 @@ public class MethodAUpdater extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, ArrayList<String>> {
         catFragment.categoriesSkip.setVisibility(View.GONE);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Remove categories that contain a year in them (starting with 19__ or 20__), except for this year
+     * and previous year
+     * Rationale: https://github.com/commons-app/apps-android-commons/issues/47
+     * @param items Unfiltered list of categories
+     * @return Filtered category list
+     */
+    private ArrayList<String> filterYears(ArrayList<String> items) {
+
+        Iterator<String> iterator;
+
+        //Check for current and previous year to exclude these categories from removal
+        Calendar now = Calendar.getInstance();
+        int year = now.get(Calendar.YEAR);
+        String yearInString = String.valueOf(year);
+        Log.d(TAG, "Year: " + yearInString);
+
+        int prevYear = year - 1;
+        String prevYearInString = String.valueOf(prevYear);
+        Log.d(TAG, "Previous year: " + prevYearInString);
+
+        //Copy to Iterator to prevent ConcurrentModificationException when removing item
+        for(iterator = items.iterator(); iterator.hasNext();) {
+            String s = iterator.next();
+
+            //Check if s contains a 4-digit word anywhere within the string (.* is wildcard)
+            //And that s does not equal the current year or previous year
+            if(s.matches(".*(19|20)\\d{2}.*") && !s.contains(yearInString) && !s.contains(prevYearInString)) {
+                Log.d(TAG, "Filtering out year " + s);
+                iterator.remove();
+            }
+        }
+
+        Log.d(TAG, "Items: " + items.toString());
+        return items;
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected ArrayList<String> doInBackground(Void... voids) {
         //If user hasn't typed anything in yet, get GPS and recent items
         if(TextUtils.isEmpty(filter)) {
-            return catFragment.mergeItems();
+            ArrayList<String> mergedItems = new ArrayList<String>(catFragment.mergeItems());
+            Log.d(TAG, "Merged items, waiting for filter");
+            ArrayList<String> filteredItems = new ArrayList<String>(filterYears(mergedItems));
+            return filteredItems;
         }
 
         //if user types in something that is in cache, return cached category
         if(catFragment.categoriesCache.containsKey(filter)) {
-            return catFragment.categoriesCache.get(filter);
+            ArrayList<String> cachedItems = new ArrayList<String>(catFragment.categoriesCache.get(filter));
+            Log.d(TAG, "Found cache items, waiting for filter");
+            ArrayList<String> filteredItems = new ArrayList<String>(filterYears(cachedItems));
+            return filteredItems;
         }
 
         //otherwise if user has typed something in that isn't in cache, search API for matching categories
@@ -79,6 +124,8 @@ public class MethodAUpdater extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, ArrayList<String>> {
             categories.add(catString);
         }
 
-        return categories;
+        Log.d(TAG, "Found categories from Method A search, waiting for filter");
+        ArrayList<String> filteredItems = new ArrayList<String>(filterYears(categories));
+        return filteredItems;
     }
 }
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/PrefixUpdater.java b/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/PrefixUpdater.java
index b095bfe6a..39acc0385 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/PrefixUpdater.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/category/PrefixUpdater.java
@@ -10,11 +10,16 @@ import org.mediawiki.api.MWApi;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Calendar;
+import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.List;
 
 import javax.net.ssl.SSLPeerUnverifiedException;
 
 import fr.free.nrw.commons.CommonsApplication;
 
+import static android.R.id.list;
+
 /**
  * Sends asynchronous queries to the Commons MediaWiki API to retrieve categories that share the
  * same prefix as the keyword typed in by the user. The 'acprefix' action-specific parameter is used
@@ -41,16 +46,59 @@ public class PrefixUpdater extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, ArrayList<String>> {
         catFragment.categoriesSkip.setVisibility(View.GONE);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Remove categories that contain a year in them (starting with 19__ or 20__), except for this year
+     * and previous year
+     * Rationale: https://github.com/commons-app/apps-android-commons/issues/47
+     * @param items Unfiltered list of categories
+     * @return Filtered category list
+     */
+    private ArrayList<String> filterYears(ArrayList<String> items) {
+
+        Iterator<String> iterator;
+
+        //Check for current and previous year to exclude these categories from removal
+        Calendar now = Calendar.getInstance();
+        int year = now.get(Calendar.YEAR);
+        String yearInString = String.valueOf(year);
+        Log.d(TAG, "Year: " + yearInString);
+
+        int prevYear = year - 1;
+        String prevYearInString = String.valueOf(prevYear);
+        Log.d(TAG, "Previous year: " + prevYearInString);
+
+        //Copy to Iterator to prevent ConcurrentModificationException when removing item
+        for(iterator = items.iterator(); iterator.hasNext();) {
+            String s = iterator.next();
+
+            //Check if s contains a 4-digit word anywhere within the string (.* is wildcard)
+            //And that s does not equal the current year or previous year
+            if(s.matches(".*(19|20)\\d{2}.*") && !s.contains(yearInString) && !s.contains(prevYearInString)) {
+                Log.d(TAG, "Filtering out year " + s);
+                iterator.remove();
+            }
+        }
+
+        Log.d(TAG, "Items: " + items.toString());
+        return items;
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected ArrayList<String> doInBackground(Void... voids) {
         //If user hasn't typed anything in yet, get GPS and recent items
         if(TextUtils.isEmpty(filter)) {
-            return catFragment.mergeItems();
+            ArrayList<String> mergedItems = new ArrayList<String>(catFragment.mergeItems());
+            Log.d(TAG, "Merged items, waiting for filter");
+            ArrayList<String> filteredItems = new ArrayList<String>(filterYears(mergedItems));
+            return filteredItems;
         }
 
         //if user types in something that is in cache, return cached category
         if(catFragment.categoriesCache.containsKey(filter)) {
-            return catFragment.categoriesCache.get(filter);
+            ArrayList<String> cachedItems = new ArrayList<String>(catFragment.categoriesCache.get(filter));
+            Log.d(TAG, "Found cache items, waiting for filter");
+            ArrayList<String> filteredItems = new ArrayList<String>(filterYears(cachedItems));
+            return filteredItems;
         }
 
         //otherwise if user has typed something in that isn't in cache, search API for matching categories
@@ -76,6 +124,8 @@ public class PrefixUpdater extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, ArrayList<String>> {
             categories.add(categoryNode.getDocument().getTextContent());
         }
 
-        return categories;
+        Log.d(TAG, "Found categories from Prefix search, waiting for filter");
+        ArrayList<String> filteredItems = new ArrayList<String>(filterYears(categories));
+        return filteredItems;
     }
 }