diff --git a/src/perspicacite/search/domain_aggregator.py b/src/perspicacite/search/domain_aggregator.py
index 0cf840a..26c925c 100644
--- a/src/perspicacite/search/domain_aggregator.py
+++ b/src/perspicacite/search/domain_aggregator.py
@@ -51,6 +51,21 @@ def is_available(self, name: str) -> bool:
         return False
 
 
+def _within_year_bounds(paper: Any, year_min: int | None, year_max: int | None) -> bool:
+    """True if ``paper.year`` lies within [year_min, year_max].
+
+    Papers with an unknown year are kept (missing publication metadata is common and
+    dropping them would silently shrink recall). Used to enforce the year window on the
+    merged results, since the window is not forwarded to the providers (see ``search``).
+    """
+    year = getattr(paper, "year", None)
+    if year is None:
+        return True
+    if year_min is not None and year < year_min:
+        return False
+    return not (year_max is not None and year > year_max)
+
+
 class DomainAwareAggregator:
     """Routes queries to domain-appropriate providers and merges results."""
 
@@ -202,8 +217,14 @@ async def search(
                     p,
                     query=query,
                     max_results=self._max_per,
-                    year_min=year_min,
-                    year_max=year_max,
+                    # Year bounds are enforced post-merge on each paper's ``year`` rather
+                    # than forwarded here: a year window makes SciLEx fan out into one
+                    # query per year (26y x N APIs), blowing the per-provider timeout
+                    # budget and returning [] — so an in-range request paradoxically
+                    # yielded zero hits. Fetching on the fast (no-year) path and filtering
+                    # the merged results is provider-independent and correct.
+                    year_min=None,
+                    year_max=None,
                     extra_kwargs=extra,
                 )
             )
@@ -243,6 +264,8 @@ async def search(
                     seen_title_hashes[title_hash] = paper
                 merged.append(paper)
 
+        if year_min is not None or year_max is not None:
+            merged = [p for p in merged if _within_year_bounds(p, year_min, year_max)]
         return merged[:max_results]
 
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_domain_aggregator.py b/tests/unit/test_domain_aggregator.py
index c773b88..01d166d 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_domain_aggregator.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_domain_aggregator.py
@@ -36,6 +36,44 @@ async def search(self, query, max_results=20, year_min=None, year_max=None, **kw
         return self._papers
 
 
+class _YearRecordingProvider:
+    """Records the year window it was called with and returns papers of mixed years."""
+
+    def __init__(self, papers: list[Paper]):
+        self.name = "gen"
+        self.description = "gen"
+        self.domains = ["general"]
+        self.tier = "reliable"
+        self.retry = 0
+        self._papers = papers
+        self.seen_year_min: int | None = -1  # sentinel: never called
+        self.seen_year_max: int | None = -1
+
+    async def search(self, query, max_results=20, year_min=None, year_max=None, **kwargs):
+        self.seen_year_min, self.seen_year_max = year_min, year_max
+        return self._papers
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_year_window_enforced_post_merge_not_forwarded():
+    """A year_max keeps in-range + unknown-year papers, drops post-cutoff ones, and is
+    NOT forwarded to providers (fetch on the fast no-year path, then filter)."""
+    papers = [
+        Paper(id="10.1/old", title="Old", doi="10.1/old", source=PaperSource.PUBMED, year=2018),
+        Paper(id="10.1/new", title="New", doi="10.1/new", source=PaperSource.PUBMED, year=2024),
+        Paper(id="10.1/none", title="NoYr", doi="10.1/none", source=PaperSource.PUBMED, year=None),
+    ]
+    p = _YearRecordingProvider(papers)
+    agg = DomainAwareAggregator([p], provider_timeout_s=5.0)
+    results = await agg.search("any query", year_max=2023)
+
+    dois = {r.doi for r in results}
+    assert dois == {"10.1/old", "10.1/none"}  # 2024 dropped; unknown-year kept
+    # The year window is enforced locally, never pushed to the provider (avoids the
+    # SciLEx per-year fan-out that returned zero results).
+    assert p.seen_year_min is None and p.seen_year_max is None
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_basic_routing_general_provider():
     p = _Provider("gen", [_paper("10.1/a")])