PAVA spray is an incapacitant spray similar to pepper spray. It is dispensed from a handheld canister, in a liquid stream. It contains a 0.3% solution of pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA), also called nonivamide, a synthetic capsaicinoid (analogue of capsaicin), in a solvent of aqueous ethanol. The propellant is nitrogen. This solution has been selected because this is the minimum concentration which will fulfill the purpose of the equipment; namely to minimise a person's capacity for resistance, without unnecessarily prolonging their discomfort.
PAVA is significantly more potent than CS gas. The liquid stream is a spray pattern and has a maximum effective range of up to . Maximum accuracy, however, will be achieved over a distance of . The operating distance is the distance between the canister and the subject's eyes, not the distance between the user and the subject.