Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. In some cases, due to blind decoding and channel estimation (CE) limits, one or more user equipment (UE) specific search sets may be pruned for blind decoding and/or CE purposes. For instance, after hashing a set of common decoding candidates to control channel elements (CCEs) within the control region, the UE specific search sets may be pruned so as to conform to the blind decode limitation, since a common search space has already occupied a portion of the total blind decode limit. Following pruning, the UE may hash the sets of UE-specific decoding candidates associated with the one or more UE specific search sets to CCEs within the control region. The UE may further prune UE specific search sets, based on CE limits, while reusing CE for overlapping hashed locations.