diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/Configuration.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/Configuration.java
index ebe28d4..f509cd4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/Configuration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/Configuration.java
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@
   private final Supplier<Cache> cache;
   private final Supplier<Event> event;
   private final Supplier<Index> index;
+  private final Supplier<Projects> projects;
   private final Supplier<SharedRefDatabase> sharedRefDb;
   private final Supplier<Collection<Message>> replicationConfigValidation;
   private final Supplier<Broker> broker;
@@ -79,6 +80,7 @@
     cache = memoize(() -> new Cache(lazyMultiSiteCfg));
     event = memoize(() -> new Event(lazyMultiSiteCfg));
     index = memoize(() -> new Index(lazyMultiSiteCfg));
+    projects = memoize(() -> new Projects(lazyMultiSiteCfg));
     sharedRefDb = memoize(() -> new SharedRefDatabase(lazyMultiSiteCfg));
     broker = memoize(() -> new Broker(lazyMultiSiteCfg));
   }
@@ -107,6 +109,10 @@
     return broker.get();
   }
 
+  public Projects projects() {
+    return projects.get();
+  }
+
   public Collection<Message> validate() {
     return replicationConfigValidation.get();
   }
@@ -198,6 +204,20 @@
     }
   }
 
+  public static class Projects {
+    public static final String SECTION = "projects";
+    public static final String PATTERN_KEY = "pattern";
+    public List<String> patterns;
+
+    public Projects(Supplier<Config> cfg) {
+      patterns = ImmutableList.copyOf(cfg.get().getStringList("projects", null, PATTERN_KEY));
+    }
+
+    public List<String> getPatterns() {
+      return patterns;
+    }
+  }
+
   /** Common parameters to cache, event, index */
   public abstract static class Forwarding {
     static final boolean DEFAULT_SYNCHRONIZE = true;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/ProjectsFilter.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/ProjectsFilter.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6fac47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/ProjectsFilter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2020 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite;
+
+import com.google.common.base.Strings;
+import com.google.common.collect.Sets;
+import com.google.gerrit.common.data.AccessSection;
+import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
+import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project.NameKey;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.events.Event;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.events.ProjectEvent;
+import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.google.inject.Singleton;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+@Singleton
+public class ProjectsFilter {
+  public enum PatternType {
+    REGEX,
+    WILDCARD,
+    EXACT_MATCH;
+
+    public static PatternType getPatternType(String pattern) {
+      if (pattern.startsWith(AccessSection.REGEX_PREFIX)) {
+        return REGEX;
+      } else if (pattern.endsWith("*")) {
+        return WILDCARD;
+      } else {
+        return EXACT_MATCH;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  private Set<NameKey> globalProjects = Sets.newConcurrentHashSet();
+  private Set<NameKey> localProjects = Sets.newConcurrentHashSet();
+  private final List<String> projectPatterns;
+
+  @Inject
+  public ProjectsFilter(Configuration cfg) {
+    projectPatterns = cfg.projects().getPatterns();
+  }
+
+  public boolean matches(Event event) {
+    if (event == null) {
+      throw new IllegalArgumentException("Event object cannot be null");
+    }
+    if (event instanceof ProjectEvent) {
+      return matches(((ProjectEvent) event).getProjectNameKey());
+    }
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  public boolean matches(String projectName) {
+    return matches(NameKey.parse(projectName));
+  }
+
+  public boolean matches(Project.NameKey name) {
+    if (name == null || Strings.isNullOrEmpty(name.get())) {
+      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+          String.format("Project name cannot be null or empty, but was %s", name));
+    }
+    if (projectPatterns.isEmpty() || globalProjects.contains(name)) {
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    if (localProjects.contains(name)) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    String projectName = name.get();
+
+    for (String pattern : projectPatterns) {
+      if (matchesPattern(projectName, pattern)) {
+        globalProjects.add(name);
+        return true;
+      }
+    }
+    localProjects.add(name);
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  private boolean matchesPattern(String projectName, String pattern) {
+    boolean match = false;
+    switch (PatternType.getPatternType(pattern)) {
+      case REGEX:
+        match = projectName.matches(pattern);
+        break;
+      case WILDCARD:
+        match = projectName.startsWith(pattern.substring(0, pattern.length() - 1));
+        break;
+      case EXACT_MATCH:
+        match = projectName.equals(pattern);
+    }
+    return match;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/cache/ProjectListUpdateHandler.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/cache/ProjectListUpdateHandler.java
index 1060977..2e2f9de 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/cache/ProjectListUpdateHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/cache/ProjectListUpdateHandler.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicSet;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.Singleton;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.ForwarderTask;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.ProjectListUpdateForwarder;
@@ -31,12 +32,16 @@
 
   private final DynamicSet<ProjectListUpdateForwarder> forwarders;
   private final Executor executor;
+  private final ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   @Inject
   public ProjectListUpdateHandler(
-      DynamicSet<ProjectListUpdateForwarder> forwarders, @CacheExecutor Executor executor) {
+      DynamicSet<ProjectListUpdateForwarder> forwarders,
+      @CacheExecutor Executor executor,
+      ProjectsFilter filter) {
     this.forwarders = forwarders;
     this.executor = executor;
+    this.projectsFilter = filter;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -52,7 +57,7 @@
   }
 
   private void process(ProjectEvent event, boolean delete) {
-    if (!Context.isForwardedEvent()) {
+    if (!Context.isForwardedEvent() && projectsFilter.matches(event.getProjectName())) {
       executor.execute(
           new ProjectListUpdateTask(new ProjectListUpdateEvent(event.getProjectName(), delete)));
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/event/EventHandler.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/event/EventHandler.java
index aafd59f..a1b7a53 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/event/EventHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/event/EventHandler.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.EventListener;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.ProjectEvent;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.StreamEventForwarder;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
@@ -26,17 +27,24 @@
 class EventHandler implements EventListener {
   private final Executor executor;
   private final DynamicSet<StreamEventForwarder> forwarders;
+  private final ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   @Inject
-  EventHandler(DynamicSet<StreamEventForwarder> forwarders, @EventExecutor Executor executor) {
+  EventHandler(
+      DynamicSet<StreamEventForwarder> forwarders,
+      @EventExecutor Executor executor,
+      ProjectsFilter projectsFilter) {
     this.forwarders = forwarders;
     this.executor = executor;
+    this.projectsFilter = projectsFilter;
   }
 
   @Override
   public void onEvent(Event event) {
     if (!Context.isForwardedEvent() && event instanceof ProjectEvent) {
-      executor.execute(new EventTask(event));
+      if (projectsFilter.matches(event)) {
+        executor.execute(new EventTask(event));
+      }
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/IndexEventHandler.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/IndexEventHandler.java
index 62359cb..fe6bdac 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/IndexEventHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/IndexEventHandler.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.events.ProjectIndexedListener;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicSet;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.ForwarderTask;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.IndexEventForwarder;
@@ -45,15 +46,18 @@
   private final DynamicSet<IndexEventForwarder> forwarders;
   private final Set<IndexTask> queuedTasks = Collections.newSetFromMap(new ConcurrentHashMap<>());
   private final ChangeCheckerImpl.Factory changeChecker;
+  private final ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   @Inject
   IndexEventHandler(
       @IndexExecutor Executor executor,
       DynamicSet<IndexEventForwarder> forwarders,
-      ChangeCheckerImpl.Factory changeChecker) {
+      ChangeCheckerImpl.Factory changeChecker,
+      ProjectsFilter projectsFilter) {
     this.forwarders = forwarders;
     this.executor = executor;
     this.changeChecker = changeChecker;
+    this.projectsFilter = projectsFilter;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -88,7 +92,7 @@
 
   @Override
   public void onProjectIndexed(String projectName) {
-    if (!Context.isForwardedEvent()) {
+    if (!Context.isForwardedEvent() && projectsFilter.matches(projectName)) {
       IndexProjectTask task = new IndexProjectTask(new ProjectIndexEvent(projectName));
       if (queuedTasks.add(task)) {
         executor.execute(task);
@@ -97,7 +101,7 @@
   }
 
   private void executeIndexChangeTask(String projectName, int id) {
-    if (!Context.isForwardedEvent()) {
+    if (!Context.isForwardedEvent() && projectsFilter.matches(projectName)) {
       ChangeChecker checker = changeChecker.create(projectName + "~" + id);
 
       try {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/BatchRefUpdateValidator.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/BatchRefUpdateValidator.java
index cfe585d..ebc17b7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/BatchRefUpdateValidator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/BatchRefUpdateValidator.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.assistedinject.Assisted;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.LockWrapper;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.OutOfSyncException;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.SharedRefEnforcement;
@@ -51,15 +52,24 @@
       ValidationMetrics validationMetrics,
       SharedRefEnforcement refEnforcement,
       LockWrapper.Factory lockWrapperFactory,
+      ProjectsFilter projectsFilter,
       @Assisted String projectName,
       @Assisted RefDatabase refDb) {
-    super(sharedRefDb, validationMetrics, refEnforcement, lockWrapperFactory, projectName, refDb);
+    super(
+        sharedRefDb,
+        validationMetrics,
+        refEnforcement,
+        lockWrapperFactory,
+        projectsFilter,
+        projectName,
+        refDb);
   }
 
   public void executeBatchUpdateWithValidation(
       BatchRefUpdate batchRefUpdate, NoParameterVoidFunction batchRefUpdateFunction)
       throws IOException {
-    if (refEnforcement.getPolicy(projectName) == EnforcePolicy.IGNORED) {
+    if (refEnforcement.getPolicy(projectName) == EnforcePolicy.IGNORED
+        || !isGlobalProject(projectName)) {
       batchRefUpdateFunction.invoke();
       return;
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/ProjectVersionRefUpdate.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/ProjectVersionRefUpdate.java
index 73bab49..c8ddb43 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/ProjectVersionRefUpdate.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/ProjectVersionRefUpdate.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.Singleton;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectVersionLogger;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.Context;
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@
   private final GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManager;
   private final GitReferenceUpdated gitReferenceUpdated;
   private final ProjectVersionLogger verLogger;
+  private final ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   protected final SharedRefDatabaseWrapper sharedRefDb;
 
@@ -66,11 +68,13 @@
       GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManager,
       SharedRefDatabaseWrapper sharedRefDb,
       GitReferenceUpdated gitReferenceUpdated,
-      ProjectVersionLogger verLogger) {
+      ProjectVersionLogger verLogger,
+      ProjectsFilter projectsFilter) {
     this.gitRepositoryManager = gitRepositoryManager;
     this.sharedRefDb = sharedRefDb;
     this.gitReferenceUpdated = gitReferenceUpdated;
     this.verLogger = verLogger;
+    this.projectsFilter = projectsFilter;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -78,7 +82,9 @@
     logger.atFine().log("Processing event type: " + event.type);
     // Producer of the Event use RefUpdatedEvent to trigger the version update
     if (!Context.isForwardedEvent() && event instanceof RefUpdatedEvent) {
-      updateProducerProjectVersionUpdate((RefUpdatedEvent) event);
+      if (projectsFilter.matches(event)) {
+        updateProducerProjectVersionUpdate((RefUpdatedEvent) event);
+      }
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/RefUpdateValidator.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/RefUpdateValidator.java
index 89c6792..a882e2d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/RefUpdateValidator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/RefUpdateValidator.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.assistedinject.Assisted;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.LockWrapper;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.OutOfSyncException;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.SharedDbSplitBrainException;
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@
   private final LockWrapper.Factory lockWrapperFactory;
   protected final RefDatabase refDb;
   protected final SharedRefEnforcement refEnforcement;
+  protected final ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   public static interface Factory {
     RefUpdateValidator create(String projectName, RefDatabase refDb);
@@ -73,6 +75,7 @@
       ValidationMetrics validationMetrics,
       SharedRefEnforcement refEnforcement,
       LockWrapper.Factory lockWrapperFactory,
+      ProjectsFilter projectsFilter,
       @Assisted String projectName,
       @Assisted RefDatabase refDb) {
     this.sharedRefDb = sharedRefDb;
@@ -81,12 +84,14 @@
     this.refDb = refDb;
     this.projectName = projectName;
     this.refEnforcement = refEnforcement;
+    this.projectsFilter = projectsFilter;
   }
 
   public RefUpdate.Result executeRefUpdate(
       RefUpdate refUpdate, NoParameterFunction<RefUpdate.Result> refUpdateFunction)
       throws IOException {
     if (isProjectVersionUpdate(refUpdate.getName())
+        || !isGlobalProject(projectName)
         || refEnforcement.getPolicy(projectName) == EnforcePolicy.IGNORED) {
       return refUpdateFunction.invoke();
     }
@@ -124,6 +129,12 @@
     }
   }
 
+  protected Boolean isGlobalProject(String projectName) {
+    Boolean isGlobalProject = projectsFilter.matches(projectName);
+    logger.atFine().log("Is global project? " + isGlobalProject);
+    return isGlobalProject;
+  }
+
   protected RefUpdate.Result doExecuteRefUpdate(
       RefUpdate refUpdate, NoParameterFunction<RefUpdate.Result> refUpdateFunction)
       throws IOException {
diff --git a/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md b/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
index 662f46e..b1f3369 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
+++ b/src/main/resources/Documentation/config.md
@@ -100,4 +100,28 @@
 
     Relax the alignment with the shared ref-database for AProject on refs/heads/feature.
 
-    Defaults: No rules = All projects are REQUIRED to be consistent on all refs.
\ No newline at end of file
+    Defaults: No rules = All projects are REQUIRED to be consistent on all refs.
+
+```projects.pattern```
+:   Specifies which projects events should be send via broker. It can be provided more
+    than once, and supports three formats: regular expressions, wildcard matching, and single
+    project matching. All three formats match case-sensitive.
+
+    Values starting with a caret `^` are treated as regular
+    expressions. For the regular expressions details please follow
+    official [java documentation](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/regex/).
+
+    Please note that regular expressions could also be used
+    with inverse match.
+
+    Values that are not regular expressions and end in `*` are
+    treated as wildcard matches. Wildcards match projects whose
+    name agrees from the beginning until the trailing `*`. So
+    `foo/b*` would match the projects `foo/b`, `foo/bar`, and
+    `foo/baz`, but neither `foobar`, nor `bar/foo/baz`.
+
+    Values that are neither regular expressions nor wildcards are
+    treated as single project matches. So `foo/bar` matches only
+    the project `foo/bar`, but no other project.
+
+    By default, all projects are matched.
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/ProjectsFilterTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/ProjectsFilterTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e81c906
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/ProjectsFilterTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2020 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite;
+
+import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
+import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project.NameKey;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.events.Event;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.events.ProjectEvent;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.events.RefUpdatedEvent;
+import com.google.gerrit.testing.GerritJUnit;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.Configuration.Projects;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.mockito.Mock;
+import org.mockito.junit.MockitoJUnitRunner;
+
+@RunWith(MockitoJUnitRunner.class)
+public class ProjectsFilterTest {
+
+  @Mock private Configuration configuration;
+  @Mock private Projects projects;
+
+  private ProjectsFilter objectUnderTest;
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldMatchByExactProjectName() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList("test_project"));
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project2"))).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldMatchByWildcard() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList("test_project*"));
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project2"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("2test_project"))).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldMatchByRegex() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList("^test_(project|project2)"));
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project2"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project3"))).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldExcludeByRegex() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList("^(?:(?!test_project3).)*$"));
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project2"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project3"))).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldExcludeByMultipleProjectsRegexPattern() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns())
+        .thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList("^(?:(?!(test_project3|test_project4)).)*$"));
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project2"))).isTrue();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project3"))).isFalse();
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project4"))).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldMatchWhenNoPatternProvided() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Collections.emptyList());
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("test_project"))).isTrue();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldMatchProjectEvent() {
+    ProjectEvent event = mock(ProjectEvent.class);
+    when(event.getProjectNameKey()).thenReturn(NameKey.parse("test_project"));
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList("test_project"));
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(event)).isTrue();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldMatchRefUpdatedEvent() {
+    RefUpdatedEvent event = mock(RefUpdatedEvent.class);
+    when(event.getProjectNameKey()).thenReturn(NameKey.parse("test_project"));
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList("test_project"));
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(event)).isTrue();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldExcludedNonProjectEvents() {
+    Event event = mock(Event.class);
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Lists.newArrayList("test_project)"));
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    assertThat(objectUnderTest.matches(event)).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldThrowExceptionWhenProjecNameIsNull() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Collections.emptyList());
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    GerritJUnit.assertThrows(
+        IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> objectUnderTest.matches((NameKey) null));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldThrowExceptionWhenProjecNameIsEmpty() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Collections.emptyList());
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    GerritJUnit.assertThrows(
+        IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> objectUnderTest.matches(NameKey.parse("")));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldThrowExceptionWhenEventIsNull() {
+    when(projects.getPatterns()).thenReturn(Collections.emptyList());
+    when(configuration.projects()).thenReturn(projects);
+
+    objectUnderTest = new ProjectsFilter(configuration);
+
+    GerritJUnit.assertThrows(
+        IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> objectUnderTest.matches((Event) null));
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/cache/ProjectListUpdateHandlerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/cache/ProjectListUpdateHandlerTest.java
index b86f8af..2a25c37 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/cache/ProjectListUpdateHandlerTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/cache/ProjectListUpdateHandlerTest.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.eq;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verifyZeroInteractions;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.events.NewProjectCreatedListener;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.events.ProjectDeletedListener;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicSet;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.cache.ProjectListUpdateHandler.ProjectListUpdateTask;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.ProjectListUpdateForwarder;
@@ -42,10 +44,14 @@
   private ProjectListUpdateHandler handler;
 
   @Mock private ProjectListUpdateForwarder forwarder;
+  @Mock private ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   @Before
   public void setUp() {
-    handler = new ProjectListUpdateHandler(asDynamicSet(forwarder), MoreExecutors.directExecutor());
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(any(String.class))).thenReturn(true);
+    handler =
+        new ProjectListUpdateHandler(
+            asDynamicSet(forwarder), MoreExecutors.directExecutor(), projectsFilter);
   }
 
   private DynamicSet<ProjectListUpdateForwarder> asDynamicSet(
@@ -87,6 +93,18 @@
   }
 
   @Test
+  public void shouldNotForwardIfFilteredOutByProjectName() throws Exception {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(any(String.class))).thenReturn(false);
+    String projectName = "projectToAdd";
+    NewProjectCreatedListener.Event event = mock(NewProjectCreatedListener.Event.class);
+    when(event.getProjectName()).thenReturn(projectName);
+    handler.onNewProjectCreated(event);
+    verify(forwarder, never())
+        .updateProjectList(
+            any(ProjectListUpdateTask.class), eq(new ProjectListUpdateEvent(projectName, true)));
+  }
+
+  @Test
   public void testProjectUpdateTaskToString() throws Exception {
     String projectName = "someProjectName";
     ProjectListUpdateTask task =
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/event/EventHandlerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/event/EventHandlerTest.java
index 990a03f..bac0851 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/event/EventHandlerTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/event/EventHandlerTest.java
@@ -15,15 +15,19 @@
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.event;
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.any;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verifyZeroInteractions;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
 import com.google.common.util.concurrent.MoreExecutors;
 import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicSet;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.Event;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.ProjectEvent;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.RefUpdatedEvent;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.event.EventHandler.EventTask;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.StreamEventForwarder;
@@ -39,10 +43,13 @@
   private EventHandler eventHandler;
 
   @Mock private StreamEventForwarder forwarder;
+  @Mock private ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   @Before
   public void setUp() {
-    eventHandler = new EventHandler(asDynamicSet(forwarder), MoreExecutors.directExecutor());
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(any(ProjectEvent.class))).thenReturn(true);
+    eventHandler =
+        new EventHandler(asDynamicSet(forwarder), MoreExecutors.directExecutor(), projectsFilter);
   }
 
   private DynamicSet<StreamEventForwarder> asDynamicSet(StreamEventForwarder forwarder) {
@@ -53,7 +60,7 @@
 
   @Test
   public void shouldForwardAnyProjectEvent() throws Exception {
-    Event event = mock(ProjectEvent.class);
+    ProjectEvent event = mock(ProjectEvent.class);
     eventHandler.onEvent(event);
     verify(forwarder).send(event);
   }
@@ -73,6 +80,16 @@
   }
 
   @Test
+  public void shouldNotForwardIfFilteredOutByProjectName() throws Exception {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(any(ProjectEvent.class))).thenReturn(false);
+
+    ProjectEvent event = mock(ProjectEvent.class);
+
+    eventHandler.onEvent(event);
+    verify(forwarder, never()).send(event);
+  }
+
+  @Test
   public void tesEventTaskToString() throws Exception {
     Event event = new RefUpdatedEvent();
     EventTask task = eventHandler.new EventTask(event);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/IndexEventHandlerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/IndexEventHandlerTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a57851
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/IndexEventHandlerTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2020 The Android Open Source Project
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.index;
+
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.any;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.eq;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verifyZeroInteractions;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+import com.google.common.util.concurrent.MoreExecutors;
+import com.google.gerrit.extensions.registration.DynamicSet;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.IndexEventForwarder;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.events.ProjectIndexEvent;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.index.IndexEventHandler.IndexProjectTask;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.mockito.Mock;
+import org.mockito.junit.MockitoJUnitRunner;
+
+@RunWith(MockitoJUnitRunner.class)
+public class IndexEventHandlerTest {
+
+  private IndexEventHandler eventHandler;
+
+  @Mock private ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
+  @Mock private IndexEventForwarder forwarder;
+  @Mock private ChangeCheckerImpl.Factory changeChecker;
+
+  @Before
+  public void setUp() {
+    eventHandler =
+        new IndexEventHandler(
+            MoreExecutors.directExecutor(), asDynamicSet(forwarder), changeChecker, projectsFilter);
+  }
+
+  private DynamicSet<IndexEventForwarder> asDynamicSet(IndexEventForwarder forwarder) {
+    DynamicSet<IndexEventForwarder> result = new DynamicSet<>();
+    result.add("multi-site", forwarder);
+    return result;
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldNotForwardProjectIndexedIfFilteredOutByProjectName() throws Exception {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(any(String.class))).thenReturn(false);
+
+    eventHandler.onProjectIndexed("test_project");
+    verify(forwarder, never())
+        .index(any(IndexProjectTask.class), eq(new ProjectIndexEvent("test_project")));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldNotForwardIndexChangeIfFilteredOutByProjectName() throws Exception {
+    int changeId = 1;
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(any(String.class))).thenReturn(false);
+
+    eventHandler.onChangeIndexed("test_project", changeId);
+    verifyZeroInteractions(changeChecker);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/BatchRefUpdateValidatorTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/BatchRefUpdateValidatorTest.java
index 20b6da8..cd919f4 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/BatchRefUpdateValidatorTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/BatchRefUpdateValidatorTest.java
@@ -16,14 +16,18 @@
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
 import static org.eclipse.jgit.transport.ReceiveCommand.Type.UPDATE;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.any;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.anyString;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.doReturn;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.lenient;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
 import com.google.gerrit.metrics.DisabledMetricMaker;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.DefaultSharedRefEnforcement;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.RefFixture;
@@ -64,11 +68,12 @@
   @Mock SharedRefDatabaseWrapper sharedRefDatabase;
 
   @Mock SharedRefEnforcement tmpRefEnforcement;
+  @Mock ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   @Before
   public void setup() throws Exception {
     super.setUp();
-
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(anyString())).thenReturn(true);
     gitRepoSetup();
   }
 
@@ -137,6 +142,24 @@
         (command) -> assertThat(command.getResult()).isEqualTo(ReceiveCommand.Result.LOCK_FAILURE));
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void shouldNotUpdateSharedRefDbWhenProjectIsLocal() throws Exception {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(anyString())).thenReturn(true);
+
+    String AN_OUT_OF_SYNC_REF = "refs/changes/01/1/1";
+    BatchRefUpdate batchRefUpdate =
+        newBatchUpdate(
+            Collections.singletonList(new ReceiveCommand(A, B, AN_OUT_OF_SYNC_REF, UPDATE)));
+    BatchRefUpdateValidator batchRefUpdateValidator =
+        getRefValidatorForEnforcement(A_TEST_PROJECT_NAME, tmpRefEnforcement);
+
+    batchRefUpdateValidator.executeBatchUpdateWithValidation(
+        batchRefUpdate, () -> execute(batchRefUpdate));
+
+    verify(sharedRefDatabase, never())
+        .compareAndPut(any(Project.NameKey.class), any(Ref.class), any(ObjectId.class));
+  }
+
   private BatchRefUpdateValidator newDefaultValidator(String projectName) {
     return getRefValidatorForEnforcement(projectName, new DefaultSharedRefEnforcement());
   }
@@ -148,6 +171,7 @@
         new ValidationMetrics(new DisabledMetricMaker()),
         sharedRefEnforcement,
         new DummyLockWrapper(),
+        projectsFilter,
         projectName,
         diskRepo.getRefDatabase());
   }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultiSiteBatchRefUpdateTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultiSiteBatchRefUpdateTest.java
index fcbafbb..a155752 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultiSiteBatchRefUpdateTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultiSiteBatchRefUpdateTest.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation;
 
 import static java.util.Arrays.asList;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.anyString;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.argThat;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.eq;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.any;
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verifyZeroInteractions;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.DefaultSharedRefEnforcement;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.RefFixture;
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.revwalk.RevWalk;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.ReceiveCommand;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.ReceiveCommand.Result;
+import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Rule;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.rules.TestName;
@@ -56,6 +59,7 @@
   @Mock RevWalk revWalk;
   @Mock ProgressMonitor progressMonitor;
   @Mock ValidationMetrics validationMetrics;
+  @Mock ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   private final Ref oldRef =
       new ObjectIdRef.Unpeeled(Ref.Storage.NETWORK, A_TEST_REF_NAME, AN_OBJECT_ID_1);
@@ -91,6 +95,11 @@
     return "branch_" + nameRule.getMethodName();
   }
 
+  @Before
+  public void setup() {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(anyString())).thenReturn(true);
+  }
+
   @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
   private void setMockRequiredReturnValues() throws IOException {
 
@@ -167,6 +176,7 @@
                 validationMetrics,
                 new DefaultSharedRefEnforcement(),
                 new DummyLockWrapper(),
+                projectsFilter,
                 projectName,
                 refDb);
           }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultiSiteRefUpdateTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultiSiteRefUpdateTest.java
index d9e5c07..029a4c6 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultiSiteRefUpdateTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultiSiteRefUpdateTest.java
@@ -16,11 +16,14 @@
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
 import static com.google.gerrit.testing.GerritJUnit.assertThrows;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.anyString;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.doReturn;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verifyZeroInteractions;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.RefUpdateValidator.Factory;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.DefaultSharedRefEnforcement;
@@ -33,6 +36,7 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.RefDatabase;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.RefUpdate;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.RefUpdate.Result;
+import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Ignore;
 import org.junit.Rule;
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -49,6 +53,7 @@
   @Mock SharedRefDatabaseWrapper sharedRefDb;
   @Mock ValidationMetrics validationMetrics;
   @Mock RefDatabase refDb;
+  @Mock ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   private final Ref oldRef =
       new ObjectIdRef.Unpeeled(Ref.Storage.NETWORK, A_TEST_REF_NAME, AN_OBJECT_ID_1);
@@ -62,6 +67,11 @@
     return "branch_" + nameRule.getMethodName();
   }
 
+  @Before
+  public void setup() {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(anyString())).thenReturn(true);
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void newUpdateShouldValidateAndSucceed() throws Exception {
 
@@ -182,6 +192,7 @@
                     validationMetrics,
                     new DefaultSharedRefEnforcement(),
                     new DummyLockWrapper(),
+                    projectsFilter,
                     projectName,
                     refDb);
             return RefUpdateValidator;
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/ProjectVersionRefUpdateTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/ProjectVersionRefUpdateTest.java
index 2eefb5a..d437a73 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/ProjectVersionRefUpdateTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/ProjectVersionRefUpdateTest.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.RefNames;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.events.Event;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.RefUpdatedEvent;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.extensions.events.GitReferenceUpdated;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.project.ProjectConfig;
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.testing.InMemoryTestEnvironment;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectVersionLogger;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.RefFixture;
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@
   @Mock SharedRefDatabaseWrapper sharedRefDb;
   @Mock GitReferenceUpdated gitReferenceUpdated;
   @Mock ProjectVersionLogger verLogger;
+  @Mock ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
 
   @Inject private ProjectConfig.Factory projectConfigFactory;
   @Inject private InMemoryRepositoryManager repoManager;
@@ -73,6 +76,7 @@
 
   @Before
   public void setUp() throws Exception {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(any(Event.class))).thenReturn(true);
     InMemoryRepository inMemoryRepo = repoManager.createRepository(A_TEST_PROJECT_NAME_KEY);
     project = projectConfigFactory.create(A_TEST_PROJECT_NAME_KEY);
     project.load(inMemoryRepo);
@@ -105,7 +109,8 @@
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getProjectNameKey()).thenReturn(A_TEST_PROJECT_NAME_KEY);
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getRefName()).thenReturn(A_TEST_REF_NAME);
 
-    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger)
+    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(
+            repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger, projectsFilter)
         .onEvent(refUpdatedEvent);
 
     Ref ref = repo.getRepository().findRef(MULTI_SITE_VERSIONING_REF);
@@ -150,7 +155,8 @@
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getProjectNameKey()).thenReturn(A_TEST_PROJECT_NAME_KEY);
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getRefName()).thenReturn(A_TEST_REF_NAME);
 
-    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger)
+    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(
+            repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger, projectsFilter)
         .onEvent(refUpdatedEvent);
 
     Ref ref = repo.getRepository().findRef(MULTI_SITE_VERSIONING_REF);
@@ -190,7 +196,8 @@
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getProjectNameKey()).thenReturn(A_TEST_PROJECT_NAME_KEY);
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getRefName()).thenReturn(A_TEST_REF_NAME);
 
-    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger)
+    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(
+            repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger, projectsFilter)
         .onEvent(refUpdatedEvent);
 
     Ref ref = repo.getRepository().findRef(MULTI_SITE_VERSIONING_REF);
@@ -227,7 +234,8 @@
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getRefName()).thenReturn(magicRefName);
     repo.branch(magicRefName).commit().create();
 
-    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger)
+    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(
+            repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger, projectsFilter)
         .onEvent(refUpdatedEvent);
 
     Ref ref = repo.getRepository().findRef(MULTI_SITE_VERSIONING_REF);
@@ -242,7 +250,30 @@
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getProjectNameKey()).thenReturn(Project.nameKey("aNonExistentProject"));
     when(refUpdatedEvent.getRefName()).thenReturn(A_TEST_REF_NAME);
 
-    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger)
+    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(
+            repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger, projectsFilter)
+        .onEvent(refUpdatedEvent);
+
+    Ref ref = repo.getRepository().findRef(MULTI_SITE_VERSIONING_REF);
+    assertThat(ref).isNull();
+
+    verifyZeroInteractions(verLogger);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void shouldNotUpdateProjectVersionWhenProjectFilteredOut() throws Exception {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(any(Event.class))).thenReturn(false);
+
+    Context.setForwardedEvent(false);
+
+    Thread.sleep(1000L);
+    repo.branch("master").commit().create();
+
+    Thread.sleep(1000L);
+    repo.branch("master").update(masterCommit);
+
+    new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(
+            repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger, projectsFilter)
         .onEvent(refUpdatedEvent);
 
     Ref ref = repo.getRepository().findRef(MULTI_SITE_VERSIONING_REF);
@@ -257,7 +288,8 @@
         .thenReturn(Optional.of("123"));
 
     Optional<Long> version =
-        new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger)
+        new ProjectVersionRefUpdate(
+                repoManager, sharedRefDb, gitReferenceUpdated, verLogger, projectsFilter)
             .getProjectRemoteVersion(A_TEST_PROJECT_NAME);
 
     assertThat(version.isPresent()).isTrue();
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/RefUpdateValidatorTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/RefUpdateValidatorTest.java
index 3f4d1bb..2951c89 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/RefUpdateValidatorTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/RefUpdateValidatorTest.java
@@ -16,12 +16,15 @@
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.anyString;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.doReturn;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.lenient;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.ProjectsFilter;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.SharedRefLogger;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.validation.dfsrefdb.DefaultSharedRefEnforcement;
@@ -53,6 +56,8 @@
 
   @Mock RefUpdate refUpdate;
 
+  @Mock ProjectsFilter projectsFilter;
+
   String refName;
   Ref oldUpdateRef;
   Ref newUpdateRef;
@@ -74,6 +79,8 @@
     doReturn(refName).when(refUpdate).getName();
     lenient().doReturn(oldUpdateRef.getObjectId()).when(refUpdate).getOldObjectId();
 
+    doReturn(true).when(projectsFilter).matches(anyString());
+
     refUpdateValidator = newRefUpdateValidator(sharedRefDb);
   }
 
@@ -193,12 +200,23 @@
     assertThat(result).isEqualTo(RefUpdate.Result.LOCK_FAILURE);
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void shouldNotUpdateSharedRefDbWhenProjectIsLocal() throws Exception {
+    when(projectsFilter.matches(anyString())).thenReturn(false);
+
+    refUpdateValidator.executeRefUpdate(refUpdate, () -> RefUpdate.Result.NEW);
+
+    verify(sharedRefDb, never())
+        .compareAndPut(any(Project.NameKey.class), any(Ref.class), any(ObjectId.class));
+  }
+
   private RefUpdateValidator newRefUpdateValidator(SharedRefDatabaseWrapper refDbWrapper) {
     return new RefUpdateValidator(
         refDbWrapper,
         validationMetrics,
         defaultRefEnforcement,
         new DummyLockWrapper(),
+        projectsFilter,
         A_TEST_PROJECT_NAME,
         localRefDb);
   }